E 494 
.065 



^J:»! 























0^ oo-. -^O 




V 



•^ ^^ 






\^^ 



O, * . , 1 • ,0' 








\ 










.0^ .'V'^ "-> 





bv^ 

















>^ -^o. 



^•^ 



./v 













%■ 







-oV* 




\o^^ 







•• 4 



O^ *.'7Vi' ^^ 



vV 



^^0^ 













-^ V-.. 











o*'V^-.A 








^• 














-^--0^ :^ 










^-^/ .-^fev %,^^ -^:c^Va\ ^^...^^ /^\ ^. 







••- o 



'bV'' 





















/ 

KEPOKT fac 

TO THE "" CJ tf^ 

U. S. SAiNITARY COMMISSION. 



SYSTEM 



ECONOMICAL RELIEF 



DISABLED SOLDIERS, 



AND 0.\ CERTAIN PROPOSED AME.NDJIENTS TO OUK PRESENT 



PENSION I^^i^TS^S, 



JOHN ORDRONAUX, M. D., 

i'rof. ul" Mud. Jul-., Coluuibia Colk-o, N. Y., iuul Associate Jloiiibcr U. S. S. C. 



" Couforot cxsanguis quo sc j;os( hclla scnectus? 
QiiEG scdcs crit emoritis ? qua; rura ilabuntur? 
Qua; nostor vetcranus arct, qua; mocma fcssis ?" 

Lucau. 1, jJ.3. 



NEW YOEK: 

SANFORD, IIARROUN & CO., PRINTERS, <;44 BROADWAY. 
1.SG<1-. 



t4H 



Rev. Henry W. Bellows, D. D., 

President U. S. Sanitary Commission. 

Dear Sir — I have tlic honor to submit the following Report as the result 
of the investigations undertaken Ity me, in compliariCe with the Resolution 
heretofore adopted by the Executive Committee. 

As none know better than themselves the diihculties surrounding this 
subject, which has so long occupied their attention, so none can better com- 
prehend the delays incidental to a cautious development of those conclusions, 
to ai-rive at which has required the wisest counsel, the calmest study, and 
the most critical sifting of opinions kindly and co-operatively tendered me, 
by earnest thinkers throughout our country. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect. 

Very truly yours, 

John Ororonaux, 

New York, April (J, 18G4. 

Ezchanire 

N. Y. Tub. Lib. 

Jill V<i 1909 






INTRODUCTORY 



TiiK (li8l);iii(liii<;' of u lurii;e aniiy, iuid the return to civil life 
of tliousaiuls of men who liiive lost the nionientuni of previous 
industrial enterprise, and must l)egin anew the task of settlinr; 
themselves into spheres of emplovnient, is an event well calcu- 
lated to awaken the most serious attention of political econo- 
mists. 

A state of war, is always a state of industrial disru[)tion, 
pr(_)}»ortioned to the population troni whom an army is re- 
cruited. This is more particularly ol)served, when, from a 
small peace establishment, an army is suddenly raised to enor- 
mous proportions, and a stinudus l)eyond that atforded l)y any 
of the industrial arts is given to persons to join it. AVhere 
bounties and wages are offered whose aggregate amount ex- 
ceeds the annual earnings of ordinary day-laborers, it follows 
that trade cannot enter into competition with such rivals, and 
must in consequence suffer the loss of most of that labor 
which, heretofore, was content to accept its ordinary market 
remuneration. A population which is large or superfluous — 
which is gaining on bread and consuming faster than it pro- 
duces — can spare with advantage a portion of its number. 
Instead of suffering, the industry of the country will gain 
thereby; and in proportion as social plethora is relieved, 
will eleemosynary burthens diminish. But when, in order to 



preserve a fuotliuld iii distniit parts, large Ixjdies must ])e de- 
taelied as corps of oljservatioii and oeeupatioii, Avliile the iiio- 
l)ile force in tlie field is daily recpiiring fresh levies to main- 
tain its numerical effective at a maximum standard — when a 
nation is thus required to supply this double draft upon its 
population, the necessary withdrawal of so many laborers 
from the various channels of industry, can luit produce a 
shock to the social falu'ic, and interrupt the previous relations 
of capital to labor. In a state of peace, and ^vith ordinary 
prosperity, these relations are disposed to be nuitually com- 
pensative ; the fluctuations, whenever occurring, being gene- 
rally ta^-orable to labor, on the well-fomided experience that 
material prosperity is always measured l)y the denumd for 
labor, and that, consequently, the greater the variety of chan- 
nels throngh which enq)loyment can be ol)tained, the larger 
will be the dispersion of wages and comforts throughout a 
nation. 

But interruptions of trade, when merely tenq)orary in char- 
acter, do not necessarily entail permanent loss upon the pro- 
ductive industry of a country. The activity of the hnman 
mind and the spnr of necessity soon drive men into new 
spheres of occnpation ; and that which formerly was consid- 
ered an integral art, unsnsceptible of sub-division, is suddenly 
seen to give birth to nuuiy collateral and subsidiary l)rancliesj 
precisely as, in the human frame, nature provides against 
accidents to the great channels of circulation, l)y furnishing it 
with collateral and compensatory currents. 

The close of a war must, therefore, lind many arts almost 
suspended, and capital turned into, comparatively speaking, 
only a foAv channels. While fortunes have rolled in upon those 
to whose doors these channels more innnediately led, inactivi- 
ty of business — suspension (»f enterprise — and losses from un- 



eiiiployed capital, have necessarily fallen upon the larger por- 
tion of the mercantile community. Society may then be con- 
sidered as deprived of that cohesive force vvhicli springs fi'oni 
the mutual inter-dependence of varied occupations. The larger 
capitalists absorbing the few remaining arts, the small dealers 
have been driven from the held of competition, jlnd compelled 
to remain inactive, until new and nudtifarious enterpi-ises, born 
of renewed conti deuce, again authorize the emplo^nnent of mod- 
erate capital. In this state of things, the disbanding of a large 
army, and the return of so many uneuiployed })ersons to the 
ranks of ci'S'il life, all anxious for occupation, all needing sup- 
port, must, for a while, at least, greatly convulse the channels of 
trade. The first necessary consequence of a glut of labor is a tall 
in its value, which, if not innnediately accompanied by a corres- 
ponding decline in tlie price of provisions, produces destitution 
among tliat large class of artizans who ever live from hand to 
mouth, and depend upon their daily earnings for their daily 
bread. Ere the currents of trade once more resume their won- 
ted liow, and the old order of things becomes re-established, 
our eleemosynary, institutions and private charities will be 
drawn down to their lowest el)l), in order to meet the crying 
wants of this ever needy class. To create new institutions of 
this kind, for the purpose of answering a temporarj^ call, be- 
cause overwhelming, would oidy tend to increase pauperism 
by increasing its respectability, and shielding it l)ehind the 
sanctions of legislative recoguition.* Tlierefore, to check, and 
to diminish unnecessary pau})erism, we must, as nmch as pos- 
sible, deny it a legal status. We must treat it as an exception, 



* It is generally found that the number of paupers is always in.accordancc 
with the extent of charitable institutions, the springs of self-reliance being 
Aveakened by the adventitious aids of gratuitous support. — [Carci/, Polit. 
Econ., part 2, p. 1^11.) 



6 



and not as the rulu of life, wliieli, once adopted, can ])e fol- 
lowed to the end. And while it is hoth nccessaiT and hnniane 
to liave pau])er-honses, they should, like hospitals, contain no 
tixed })opnlation, l)ut discharge as soon as relieved every one 
wdio is ahle to earn his own living. As a general rule, liunum 
pride repudiates the condition of a heneiiciary for life, and all 
look forward to that golden future, teeming with promised ac- 
quisitions, in Avhich each shall be independent and self-support- 
ing. It is the duty of governments, therefore, hy wise legisla- 
tion, to foster such sentiments ; it is the duty of society at 
large, by the persistent intluences of voice and exani})le, to con- 
stitute itself the missionary of this idea. For, Avhen this shall 
be done, and men everywhere be taught the essential dignity 
of inde})endence, society will have erected the strongest bar- 
riei's, not only against destitution and misery, but also against 
idleness, profligacy and crime. Pauperism and crime are ever 
in close relationshi}) to each other ; and so often in the direct 
line of cause and etfect, that a prevention of the former largely 
operates as an extinguisher of the latter. The " dangerous 
class" in any community is almost exclusively recruited from 
among the unemployed poor. 

Now, with us, the time can not be far distant when our best 
efforts in this behalf will be needed, and all our energies be 
called upon to grapple with some such many-sided probleiii as 
this. W/i((t '/.v to he rione, not ortJi/ with the disbanded^ hut 
2><ii't)euJ(i)-hj }iilth tlie invalid and dixahled fioldiers created hy 
the war f For if it be wise and expedient to consider, in the 
manner in Mdiich we have been pointing out, the effects upon 
the labor-market of disl)anding a large army, aiul the nuiterial 
conse(pienees resulting from the sudden iiiflux of hosts of la- 
borers into a field where little demand exists for their ser- 
vices, or wliere the su})])ly, from its suddemiess and magnitude, 



will immediately out-rmi the demand, and continue to do so 
for a long while to come ; if it be a wise fore-casting on the 
part of political economists to consider and prepare for the ad- 
vent of this large class into the social hive, how much wiser 
and more humane is it not, to consider the peculiar position of 
those among that class, who, by the accidents and vicissitudes 
of war, have paid the trilnite of patriotism on battle-fields — 
have lost limbs and health, and thus rendered it certain that 
they must fall behind their fellows in the competitive race for 
bread, self-support and honest independence. It is for these 
maimed and mutilated martyrs of the war that our tenderest 
sympathies should l)e kindled. It is in their behalf that pub- 
lic opinion, anticipating legislation, should interest itself in 
some plan of permanent and ennobling relief, and our best 
efforts bo directed towards keeping them from falling by the 
way-side, sad — weary — unsuccessful — and neglected — or drift- 
ing into large pauper retreats, where the edge of ambition is 
dulled, and the heart crushed into apathy by the consciousness 
of dependence and helplessness. Whatever may be said of 
poverty as a moral discipline or a stimulus to eftbrt, it is ^•ery 
certain that its effects in the aggregate, and upon masses of 
individuals, are pernicious and demoralizing. Adversity may 
soften the hearts of a few", l)ut upon most its effects are directly 
opposite. Whether this arises from envy or comparison with 
the more fortunate around, it cannot be disputed that poverty, 
recognizing itself as incurable, destroys am])ition, self-respect, 
and virtue, and sinks its victim into a condition, born partly 
of temperament, and partly of education and surrounding cir- 
cumstances, but always degrading to his self-respect. The 
strong become desperate, and disturbers of social order — the 
weak fall into secret vice, and low, dishonest practices, or sink 
at once into dull apathy and indifference to their position. 



Our penal and clccniusynary institutions present all these 
classes to view, and afford a good theatre upon which to study 
the various forms of moral and physical degeneration. It is, 
therefore, the duty of society to guard itself against all increase 
of pauperism, hy stamping it with deformity, and stimulating 
men to make every possible effort ami sacrifice in order to 
avoid falling into this dependent class. 

But to a man deprived of limbs or health, and whose con- 
dition disables him from competing in the labor-market with 
the healthy, no reproach should be attached for being a 
pauper. Even if he would work, he cannot. And his very 
condition precludes him from offering his services, or being 
songht for as a laborer. He becomes, then, the worthiest ob- 
ject, not of charity, in its ordinary sense, but of a just reward 
due him for sacrificing, in behalf of his country, those advan- 
tages which he formerly possessed in connnon with other men. 
We would not call him an object of charity, si> n:iuch as a 
creditor of society for a permanent benefit conferred upon it ; 
and it is the duty of the community so benefitted, Avhile 
recognizing the claim, to do justice as well to itself as to 
him. If he be a man, and can work, he will neither ask 
nor expect to be supported in idleness. If he 1)C indolent and 
unthrifty, it is the duty of society not to encourage this dispo- 
sition by entirely supporting him, but giving him only so 
much as will insure his daily bread, leaving his other wants to 
be provided for by his own efforts. In this way he is saved the 
danger of falling into entire apathy or indifference as to his own 
position, and becoming a legalized, non-producing beneficiary, 

It is too much to expect, however, that all invalids will 
l)e able to work even to a limited extent. Many will l)e in 
such conditions of permanent disability as to preclude all 
possibility of their laboring. Tlutse having lost an eye or 



limb, altlioiigli most sensibly deformed or mutilated, are by 
no means tlie most disabled or least competent to work. 
There are gradations in physical disability, as all nmst be 
ready to admit. Of these degrees and their etfects the sur- 
geon only is the competent judge. But, as a general rule, it 
may be said that, except in the case of special arts requiring 
manual skill, constitutional or diathetic diseases are a more 
formidable obstacle to physical ability, and a more prolific 
source of invalidism than simple nuitilation. For these broken 
down and sickly men hospitals and retreats will l)e needed. 
Tlie victims of phthisis, chronic rheumatism, paludal intoxica- 
tion in its multiple forms, paralysis, the sequences of typhoid, ifec, 
&c., will eke out their few remaining years totally unable to per- 
form any systematic labor. For four or five years after the 
war, hospitals for this class will still be necessary, and the char- 
ities of the humane and Christianly-minded will be taxed to 
provide additional alleviation to their declining days. It is idle 
to devise any form of employment for these men. They can 
accept none, because of their entire unfitness to labor. With 
them vegetative life is alone possible. The many rootlets by 
which, through health and activity, they have been inwoven 
into the laljric of society, are wilting and dying daily. Be- 
neath the lean, cold liand of disease their phj^sical powers are 
melting away. They are passing to the grave surely^ — irre- 
vocably — and the duty we owe them is to make that passage 
as smooth and comfortable as possible, so that the gratitude 
and tenderest regard of the nation may cast a halo of sympa- 
thy about the couch of its dying heroes. 

But there will be a larger class than these — whose number 

in fact none can yet conjecture, — and which, though less 

prostrated by disease, and not quite cut off fi-om all ability to 

labor, will necessarily be entitled to more or less public assist- 

2 



10 

anee. These men will equally deserve the (lesi<;'nati(»ii of 
invalids; for, admitting- even varying degrees in their infirmi- 
ties, none among them will he possessed of health. Able to 
work only a few hours a day — possibly only a few hours a 
week — alternating between long periods of enforced inactivity 
and short moments of physical ability- — unable to undertake 
indiscriminate labors, and restricted to employments of an in- 
door, sedentary, and special character — these are the men for 
whom we shall be compelled to provide means and methods 
of industrial activity suited to their individual powers. Their 
numbers promising to be extensive, all idea of disposing of 
them by any single plan, such as creating large, industrial in- 
stitutions, or colonizing them in one locality, becomes prepos- 
terous and mischievous. To do this would convert them at 
once into an exceptional class — an ever present cause of ap- 
prehension in any community. For, as a general rule, excep- 
tional classes are not to be encouraged. They form an anom- 
alous feature in society, and present dangerous examples to 
others. Nevertheless, it is true that, in this instance, the 
qualifications of public service, and the physical suffering en- 
tailed by it, would purge the class of invalids of the worst 
features of exceptionalism. Still, as a principle, the doctrine 
of large associations of this kind should not be fostered. It is 
bad on many accounts ; bad because it segregates men from 
the contact, and influence, and control of public sentiment — 
bad because it collects them in masses, having no diversified 
motives to inspire or direct their activities — and bad because 
the prevailing sentiment of such a comnnmity (the sentiment 
of exceptionalism) becomes intensified by the numbers repre- 
senting it. A man who has become one of such a community, 
and thoroughly indjued himself with its i)ublic feeling, can 
scarcely be expected ever to make a contented citizen else- 



11 

where. On this account, therefore, the interests both of the 
country, as well as of the invalids themselves, and of their 
posterity, demand that they should be disposed of in some 
other and more practically beneficial way. They were com- 
ponent parts of our communities before they entered the public 
service — they should resume those places and be redistributed 
throughout them on retiring from it. This is the opinion 
which reason, humanity and morality alike conspire to arrive 
at, and to prove whose soundness very little argument need 
be adduced. The experience of mankind in all ages has estab- 
lished it ; and since society is ever self-renewing, that opinion 
must be as well suited to present as to past times. 

In accordance with these views, which have met the appro- 
val of many leading minds the country througli, as being emi- 
nently practical and suggestive, the Sanitary Connnission, long 
exercised for the future of our disabled soldiers, has undertaken 
to crystallize into forms of possil)le application the following 
plan for their equitable disposition. This plan is, as yet, but 
a framework, about which it is hoped that both public senti- 
ment and legislation will unite to form a complete and all suf- 
ficient edifice. As now developed it is purely tentative, and 
in that sense incomplete. It is, in fact, only rudimentary. 
There are, and will be found, doubtless, many objections to it, 
and, perhaps, none could be presented that would exactly 
meet the views of all. Those, at least, who have read the 
very admirable reports of Mr. Stephen II. Perkins, on the 
European Pension Sj^stems and Invalid Hospitals, (San. 
Comm., Doc. No. 67,) cannot have failed to perceive, nor 
refuse to admit, that there is nothing in those wise and, 
doubtless, well considered systems, which can be adopted here 
without thorough and radical alteration. They are designed 
to meet the wants of a difterent people from our own ; are 



12 

based upon a iniicli lower scale of habitual personal expendi- 
ture ; are conceived in a spirit of predominant caste privilege, 
and bear none of that impress of sympathy with the masses, 
which should be the over-shadowing element in the legislation 
of all Republican forms of government. We have, therefore, 
no precedents to guide us in elaborating this vast and multi- 
form problem ; no experience of the past to draw light from, 
or teach us the mode of its easiest and cheapest solution. It 
is a question which goes down to the very foundations of po- 
litical economy — addresses itself to that sense of justice and 
humanity which should govern the conduct of men in their 
civil as well as their social relations, and which, lastly, should 
be envisaged under a large and comprehensive estimate of 
our present wants, our possible capacities, our undeveloped 
resources, and that still expanding future which hangs, like 
an unfulfilled prophecy, o^'er our country. 

Learning mainly what to avoid in the legislation of other 
countries, we must begin a new order of things here, trusting 
to our young and expansive civilization, to the plastic charac- 
ter of our municipal institutions, and to the easy adaptation 
of the American mind to all new and possible exigencies for a 
practical experiment and realization of this great undertaking. 
The present is only a tentative effort to fathom that which 
has never before been fathomed in our country. It is a bold 
proposition in political economy, complex, it is true, in the 
elements from which it is framed, yet susceptible, it is be- 
lieved, of great simplification in its practical applications. 
This might not be true everywdiere, it might not even be true 
elsewhere ; but the greater average intelligence with which 
common schools have ennobled the public mind of our country, 
and the greater intellectual activity developed and kept alive 
by the ceaseless attritions of the press, lead us to believe in 



13 

the possibility of entirely developing and satisfactorily operat- 
ing the ultimate conclusions which legislation shall arrive at, 
from the few desultory suggestions and glimmerings of re- 
motely shadowed truths which are hereinafter enumerated. 



14 



TROPOSITION FIKST. 



Every measure tendhu) to fuse Invcdids into a class, wlth2Mr- 
t'lGular privileges or immunities, should he discountenanced. 
JV^or should any such accumulations of them he encouraged 
in any locality, as would render them independent of jytdjlic 
opinion, or segregate them from friends or kindred. 

AVliatever may Le the sense of gratitude experienced towards 
those who liave risked life and health in defence of their 
country's honor, it is still to be reniendjered that, as citizens, 
they have burthens to bear, as well as privileges to enjoy, in 
common with all the rest.* These burthens are the true in- 



* The laws of Rome, ever founded upon a large and philosophical estimate 
of the mutual relations of the citizen to the State, while they accorded very 
liberal immunities to military Veterans, did not entirely absolve them from 
all burthens, as may be seen by the following extracts from the Digest ; 

1. Various are the privileges of Veterans. 

2. They are exempt from personal taxes. 

3. The divine Antony decreed, in common with his father, that they should 
be excused from laboring in the ship-yards.* 

4. They are also exempt from the tribute-tax, lest they should themselves 
become exactors of this tribute. 

5. Constantino wished them to be exempt, in general, from all corporal ser- 
vices, including the personal duty of transporting tribute ; and also that 
they should not pay taxes upon the grants which they dispose of by sale. 

Per contra. 

6. AVe have said that Veterans were exempt from personal Taxes. It is 
otherwise with burthens on realty ; for the taxes and charges on one's patri- 
mony are of solemn obligation, and all should bear them. 

Of privileges granted by the penal code, was one essentiaily distinguish- 

* Among the Romans, the navy was considered less honorable than the army (honoratior Jli- 
litia), and its members were styled, not militas, but socii navaUs. The first appearance of f reed- 
men in the public service occurred during the civil war, when they were placed of preference in 
the navy, as being the inferior branch. No one but a native-born citizen could bo admitted into 
the army. 



15 



centives to patriotism, for, in proportion as a man's interests 
are those of his country, will he exert himself to maintain 
hoth its social and moral character. To classify men arbi- 
trarily, and to annex to them as part of such distinction any 
particular privileges or immunities, is to destroy the growth 
and the moral influence of the individual in the community. 
He becomes one only of a cla^s with which he is completely 
incorporated ; and as his daily bread depends upon his remain- 
ing in it, he loses all stinnilus to individuality of exertion and 
self-independence, and thus is degraded by the very power 
which bestows upon him its benefactions. Exceptional classes 
are always in fact undesirable ones. They are anomalous 
features in social organization, having no points of resemblance 
to the elements about them. Even if they do not actively 
disturb the latter, they at least influence them negatively, and 
so silently undermine the framework into which they are in- 
troduced. The predominant characteristics ot men are also 
intensitied by the nmltiplication of those to whom any special 
traits of character belong, and as virtues are not the fruits 
most sedulously cultivated by masses, it is plain that their ten- 
dencies lie in an opposite direction. To meet and militate 
against this hereditar}^ disposition in human nature, we must 



ing them from other citizens, viz: "Neither sliall a Veteran be cast to the 
beasts, nor beaten to death with clubs." 

But, on the other hand, living in idleness or by one's wits, in the style 
termed Bohemian by the moderns, was severely punished, &c. 

7. "Veterans who, through indolence, neither cultivate the soil, nor pursue 
any honest calling, but join themselves to thieving, are debarred all the 
privileges of Veterans, and may be subjected by provincial deputies to suit-- 
able penalties." 

It would seem that Catiline found no inconsiberable number of recruits 
for his rebellious host among the unemployed Veterans, "lege solutis," and 
esteemed their valor so highly as to place them in the front rank. 

Sallust, Belhim Catilinarium, g Lix. 



16 



strenuously discourage tlie Ibriuiition of large, exceptional 
communities. With tlie experience of ages and the records 
of history to support our conclusions, we should indeed be 
l)lind to the teachings of the world's life, did we seek any 
other form of social aggregation, than that which recognizes 
{\\e family and its fireside as the corner-stone of the fabric. 
Yet, in the present instance, the family, or oikos, is not to be 
understood literally, or as confined to those exclusively related 
by consanguinity, but in a larger sense, of that patriarchal 
family, which, without always representing numbers, yet made 
those numbers small enough to be easily governed by one 
mind. 

While, therefore, it is unquestionably both proper and hu- 
mane that invalids should be maintained at public expense in 
asylums, when without homes, or disabled from earning their 
own living, it is for the interest of all that those institutions 
should be as few in number as possible, so that whenever an 
individual can support himself out of one, he should be in- 
duced to do so, on the principle of cultivating relf-respect 
and personal independence. Their doors should be opened 
only to the absolutely dependent, confirmed and incurable in- 
valids. All others, who can do better, should be encouraged 
to attempt a higher and more useful sphere. In order to secure 
tliis, however, public opinion must be educated into the realiza- 
tion of its importance, and the necessity of adopting measures 
which shall combine to impart Ijoth a practical and economic, 
as well as a humane solution to this problem. When this end 
shall have been secured, the details will follow according as 
practical experiment shall develope them. 



17 



Pr.OPOSITION SECOND. 



Ax: far itN poas'Me, invalids should he restoi'ed to their original 
homes, and the communities to which they helo7ig should ah- 
sorl) the in, Inj assigning to tlwui, hy conventimud agreement, 
the lighter occupations! and no provision separating them 

from their families, or diminishing their domestic responsi- 
hilities, shoidd l>e encouraged. Far, wherever invalids have 
homes, puhlic oprinion shoidd he directed to these as the hest 

p)lacesfor them / the ohject always heing to 'keep) them from 
nlti'mately drifting into tovn or connty pauper asylums. 

Tlome is generally the best liospital, even as repose is often 
the l)est remedy. Experience also shows that men will en- 
dnre greater privations and discomforts, withont mnrmnring, 
in their own homes, than the most trifling ones in pvd^lic in- 
stitutions. For, althongh they may l)e l)eneficiaries, the 
sense of gratitnde towards the power which provides for them, 
never so almndantly, is not sufficient to overcome the feeling of 
restraint, which recpiired obedience to the rules of an estal)lish- 
ment generally occasions in its inmates. These retreats, how- 
ever well situated, and with Avhatever advantages of locality 
and adornment supplied, are yet dull and heart-crushing to 
most persons, in whom tlie idea of residence is, in some de- 
gree, associated with compulsion. The regulations relating to 
hours — to roll-call — to permissions of absence and to pen- 
alties for infractions of rules — become irksome and intolera- 
ble, and men are ready to put up w*ith anything at home, 
rather than be prisoners of state in a palace. This is human 
nature, and exemplifles itself in all public institutions, the 
world over. Since the Increase hi the scale of pensions in 
France, following upon the Crimean alid Italian wars, young 
3 



18 



men can scarcely l)c induced to enter the Invalided. Tliey 
prefer, witli the modicum allowed tliem (365 francs per an- 
num), to live at home and pursue whatever avocations they 
can. Their sense of personal independence is thus cherished 
and kept intact. They feel that they are producers and not 
consumers niereh", and instead of being burthens upon the 
State, arc contriljuting something to its productive industr}' 
and w^ealth. This sentiment, the best incentive to etfort and 
acquisition, although founded to some degree upon pride, is 
yet deserving of cultivation, and should be fostered in all 
communities as among the virtuous springs to action l)y which 
men are stimulated. For, after all, man is only so far a man 
as he is identified actively with the movement of his race; 
and while drones and laggards may wear the outward form 
of manhood, it is very certain that they belong only to its 
lowest expression. 

If such be the experience of the old countries of Europe, 
how much more will it not prove so in our own, where the ex- 
pansive character of our civilization, and the multitudinous 
channels opened to talents of all grades, enable every man to 
find some occupation suited to his abilities. Except those com- 
pletely blind, or who have lost both arms, no man among us 
need starve for Avant of something to do. The list of occupa- 
tions cited hereafter, will exhibit the variety of callings which 
can still be pursued by one-legged, one-armed, or jiartially in- 
firm men. Of course there will l)e many whose condition of 
oscillation, between intermissions and recurrences of chronic 
disease, is such that no steady work can be performed by them. 
But even these need not ]iecessarily be housed in hospitals. 
They can pursue, at home, many minor occupations, such as 
tending stores, toll-gates and bridges, or acting as Hag-men, 
starters, etc., on railways, or make themselves useful as jani- 



19 



tors of pul)lic buildings ; in fact, doino- anything wliicli dues 
n(_)t ru({uirc! constant or protracted niuscnlar effort, and in 
which, too, their families can assist them more or less. All 
the lighter trades may be inclnded in this category, as well as 
those dnties of superintendence requiring intelligence and skill 
ratiier than niannal lal)or. 

It is not difficult to conceive that, in this way, a very large 
number of disabled soldiers can tind occupation, and be fur- 
nished the means of earning a respectable livelihood. It is 
only necessary to have them classiiied according to ability, 
and to enroll them descriptively in some central bureau (see 
Pr()}>us. 8th) where employers can come and select them accord- 
ing to the kind of lal)or they wish performed, in order to 
place their talents at once in the market and secure them 
their full \alue. Nothing would be nu)re creditable to the 
humanity of our civilization than to assist, by some method 
of rational distriljution, founded upon l)oth mental and physi- 
cal ability, these war-worn veterans in su})porting themselves 
with dignity and maidy independence. But in order to do 
this, they should be assisted only up to the point necessary 
to obtain an opportunity to labor. Beyond this, any adven- 
titious aid would only clog ambition and deaden industry. 
They need help to secure a foothold in the great field of occu- 
pation, to enable them to obtain places of employment, and 
after that, they may be trusted to labor for themselves — the 
true maidiood showing itscilf, if ever, in the desire to toil for 
independence rather than to accept a living however legalized 
l)y enactment. 

But next to the absorption of invalids into their original 
homes and i)laces of residence, is the duty devolving upon 
comnnmities to provide them with means of steady and con- 
tinuous employment. Admitting at the outset the chronic and 



20 

pennanent cliaractcr of their dit^ability, the oblii>;ati()ii to aid 
them ill earning their livelihood is co-existeut with life. 
Wherever, therefore, places originally obtained by them are 
relinqnished or lust, either throngh increasing inlirniity, or the 
expiration of the term of service for which they were employed, 
it is incnmbent upon society to see that new avennes are opened 
to them. Their claims for employment (qualitication and good 
moral character being always assured), should be treated as 
preferred ones before the tribunal of pu])lic opinion. In other 
words, they are the wards of the community, and must never 
be cast off, so long as their own acts do not compel a forfeiture 
of this beneficent relation. The reason of this is ol)vious from 
the status assigned them. They are the adopted children of 
the State — mutilated and invalided in her defence, and it is for 
her, in their M'cakness and decrepitude, to insure them as a re- 
ward, and not as a compensation, the vantage-ground of her 
assistance in earning a living. For awhile, indeed, after the 
war, as at present during the living realization of the great de- 
bate of battle, there will l)e a hue of romance thrown over 
benefactions to invalid soldiers. Unorganized and immethodi- 
cal efforts will, for some time to come, continue to lavish 
means in answer to calls of this kind. While such movements 
are fashionable, they will l)e popular, and in that sense may 
be trusted for supplying all immediate wants. But mingling 
with this tliought is tlie sad reflection that the interest of 
many givers, and they perhaps the largest, will too often be 
limited to the actual contribution, and cease wdth it, looking 
no higher nor beyond that which satisfies the pride of one's 
social position. Plainly, this is not the kind of assistance to 
be relied upon through the long years that are before us. It 
lacks the cpialities of regularity of system, and finds no fitting 
place in the political economy of a State. 



21 

In truth, political economy as the expression of a system of 
cliecks and balances, regulating the relations of capital to la- 
bor, is essentially material and un-emotional in its dealings 
M'ith mankind. It has no equitable side, in the legal sense of 
that term, and makes no provision for those wliom fraud or 
accident have deprived of equal advantages with their fellow- 
men. In the operations of the labor-market, the law regulating 
supply, as contra-distinguished from demand, is always in favor 
of physical ability. Hence the weaker workman nmst yield 
to the stronger in obtaining (.>pportunities of enqjloyment. 
The hirer, on his part, naturully seeks the largest return in 
manual power or skill, for the wages oft'ered l)y him. It is 
not his policy, whatever his humauity, to employ invalids as 
against stroug and healthy men. Even if he could obtain the 
services ot the former at a reduced rate, it would not be expe- 
dient to undertake any enterprise with them requiring con- 
tinuous labor. Tiuie l)eing an essential element in all con- 
tracts for personal services, no man would select from prefer- 
ence, invalids, predisposed from their very physical condition 
to interruptions of health, to perform any work whose |)eriod 
of accomplishment was prescril)ed within iixed limits. Stone- 
masons, brick-layers, carpenters, joiners, painters, etc, etc., 
would not stand much chance of employment, if their engage- 
ments to do a certain piece of work were always qualified by 
a proviso relating to their infirmity. The danger of fresh out- 
breaks of disease would deter employers froui retainlug the 
services of those who might, at .my moment, cause a serious 
interru})tion to their l)usiness, aud the possible forfeiture ot a 
contract. 

This is undoubtedly the ])ractical, brick and mortar side of 
the prol)lem, but precisely because it is so, and the one to 
which all enq)loyers first look, must we face it Mntli l)oldness. 



22 



It must 1)6 admitted, as all will ai;Teo, that wliure two muu 
LMjually skilled to perform a given labor present themselves 
before an employer, the one an invalid, the other a sound, 
healthy man, the invalid A\'ill stand no chance as against his 
rival. This nniy not be Innnane, but it is certainl}' human, 
and as dealings between men on the great stage of life ai'e 
regulated more by figures than by feelings, we must not ex. 
pect to lind any very strong accentuations of humanity in 
their commercial relations. Do xt des -AmX facio ut facla-s \^ 
the rubric which governs the intercourse of the market-place. 
The basis of its transactions is a purely legal one. It recog- 
nizes nothing more strongly than the right to expect as nnich 
in return for wages as the laborer can give. Hence the in- 
valid, always representing the minus side of the services 
which the nuirket proifers, cannot, in justice, expect to com- 
pete with his sound and able-l)odie(l rival, who represents the 
plus side of tlie same problem. His condition is, therefoi-e, 
one of permanent inferiority, and he must submit, not only to 
accept inferior wages, but even to wait wearily for employ- 
ment until the list of better-condttioned men is first disposed 
of. In order to meet and overcome the sad results of this in- 
evitable law of demand and supply, connnunities must either 
create new channels of employment, or else they must pro\-ide 
invalids with the achantage of a preterred claim to certain 
places and kinds of occupation, of which none can dispossess 
them. 

Fortunately, howe\'er, it is not necessary to create new chan- 
nels of employment, or greatly to disi-upt old ones, in order to 
secure to invalids })ermanent spheres of occupation. Let pub- 
lic sentiment l)e so educated as to surrender the lighter occu- 
])ations into the hands of disabled soldiers by conunon consent, 
aiul the object so inuch desired will at once tiiul its realization. 



23 



Let it be settled tlifit the well-quallified invalid lias a right to 
these eiuployineiits — that it is dishonoraLle in a sound man to 
compete with him for their possession, and the disparity in 
manual strength ceases to have an_y weight. While economy 
suffers in nothing from such an arrangement, humanity is sat- 
isfied, justice vindicated, and personal independence provided 
for in one who, otherwise, might be doomed to irretrievable 
idleness and misfortune, from his continued inability to obtain 
employment. 

This course of conduct on the part of connmmities would 
render legislative interference unnecessary. Indeed, it might 
be a serious cpiestion whether any legislature M'ould have a 
right to interfere with the (piestion, except so far as prescribing 
the qualifications of public officers. Certainly it could not go 
beyond this, and decree that civil employments of a particular 
nature should exclusively belong to invalids. A principal of 
interference of this kind, carried to such an extreme, would 
militate against the plainest sanctions of personal right. It 
should not, therefore, be undertaken. Far wiser and better is 
it, then, to educate the public heart by convincing appeals to 
its humanity, into a recognized form of consuetudinary law on 
this subject — a law which, without having the positive, insti- 
tutional character of an enactment, should yet bear with an 
obligation equally binding upon all ; and to disobey which should 
be considered something more than a violation of social ethics 
and conventional usage, and occasion to the offender a punish- 
ment more lasting than legal penalties, in the contempt and 
scorn of the connnunity. It is true, doubtless, that there are 
men who would not Ije moved, even by considerations appeal- 
ing either to their humanity or self-respect, into compliance 
with such a custom, but their number would always be too 
small to cast auv influence on the communitv at lar<>-e. 



2-t 



Experience everywhere sliowiiiii; that public opinion is the 
most powerful lever in society, it only becomes necessary to 
l»ossess ourselves of this all-controllin<>; instrument in order to 
tiuMi the current of social sentiment in any direction. And, as 
all reforms grow popular and reputal)le in proportion to their 
magnitude and tlie nund)ers beneficially influenced l)y them, 
so would it be with this movement. Let public meetings be 
held, at first, in villages, to consider and act upon this sugges- 
tion. Let a certain class of employers, for example, organize 
themselves as an association willing to hire invalids l)y prefer- 
ence. Let the initiative l)e taken on any scale, however small. 
City, railroad and other corporations can also find employment 
for hundreds of disabled soldiers, and patronage can thus l)e' 
made to flow in upon them from individuals to corporations. 
Example being contagious, as soon as the plan is found to ^vork 
well in a small community, we may l)e sure it will be tried in 
a larger one, thus passing from village to city — to county and 
to state. 

Let us suppose, again, that the trial is nuide with one calling 
first, so as not suddenly to disrupt the established order of 
things. The ex])eriment can l)e made with any subordinate 
office that may be selected. Thus, a doorkeeper or messenger 
is wanted. It is agreed that an invalid, otherwise meritorious 
and competent, shall have it. One is accordingly selected, the 
vacancy filled, and tlie precedent established. So long as there 
are invalids to be found in that locality,, let it be understood 
that they are to have a preferred claim to the succession. 
Meanwhile, and as other vacancies occur in offices whose du- 
ties can be discharged by one-armed, one-legged, or infirm men, 
let the pi'ecedent be extended. By these means, in the course 
of a few years, every nseful invalid can be provided for, and 
when so established, becomes a })rodnctive agent in the indus-^ 



25 



trial economy of the State, instead of a mere drone and con- 
sumer. Of course it should be understood that the tenure of 
office is for life, and during good behavior, particularly where 
the disability is of a permanent and incurable kind. And, as 
public sympathy would naturally be first enlisted in favor of 
this class, there is little room to doubt that they would receive 
the earliest benefactions that were to be bestowed. 

The following- list of light trades suited to invalids will 
show how wide is the field of industrial activity still open to 
them : 



Brush and broom-making. 
Button-making. 
Cameo-cutting. 
Carvers. 
Caterers. 
Cigar-making. 
Collectors. 
Copyists. 
Cork-cutters. 
Bottlers. 

Daguerreotypists. 
Engravers. 
Barbers. 
Music dealers. 
Postmen. 
Hatters. 
Musicians. 
Jewelers. 
Lithographers. 
Match-makers. 
Newspaper venders. 
Oyster stands. 
4 



Shij^keepers. 

Car drivers. 

Pilots on ferry l)oats. 

Accountants. 

Plaster-image nuikers. 

Seed stores. 

Pocketbook makers. 

Bread and cake stores. 

Confectioner3\ 

Soda fountains. 

Stationers. 

Surveyors of work. 

Gangers. 

Tailors. 

Teachers. 

Tea dealers. 

Telegraph operators, 

clerks, messengers, etc. 
Thread and needle stores. 
Umbrellas and parasols. 
"Whip makers. 
Willow workers. 



26 



Paper box makers. 
Writing masters. 
Printing. 
Tol)acconists. 
Toll gatlierers. 
Ticket masters. 
Switclnnen. 
Watclimen. 



Window-shade makers. 
Wire workers. 
Wooden ware. 
Worsted patterns.- 
Slioemaking. 
Bookbinding. 
Weavino;. 



Occupations possible to one-aroned men : 



Overseers. 

Messengers. 

Small parcel carriers. 

Tally-men. 

Inspectors of all kinds. 

Watchmen. 

Bell-rino-ers. 



Collectors. 

Assessors. 

Tax gatherers. 

Doorkeepers. 

Ushers. 

Ponnd-keepers. 

Waiters. 



We know of the case of a man having bnt one arm, and 
that the left., who cuts wood., ^Vc/^i/.s- and. digs 2)otatoef(^ //^A'Z'.s- 
corn., drives oxen., and sometimes lieiJds ilte ploiujh ! 



PKOPOSITION THIRD. 

Natwnal Military Homes or Asylums sJundd he created ., which 
should he semi-indvstrial j on enteiinej them the Invalid 
shoidd relhuinish his jperisioQi, if a private soldier ^ or if an 
officer, then so 7nuch of it as would he an eei'uivalent fcrr his 
hoard. 

There will always be fonnd among invalids a large class of 
men who have no homes of their own to which they can repair ; 
or else, althongh possessed of a home among relatives, are yet 



27 



in tliat condition of disability wliicli renders it necessary that 
tliey slionld have constant personal attendance, — thus, either 
making great demands upon the already occupied time of 
others, or requiring the employment of an attendant and an 
additional expenditure for his salary. In order to meet the 
wants of this class, JSTational Military Homes or Asylums 
should be created. But the number of these should be as 
small as is compatible with due regard to the wants of this 
class, and none should be admitted into them except such as 
can prove either, 

1st. That they have no homes of their own, or, 
2(1. That their home, if any, is with relatives, unable to 
support or supply them with such care as their condition 
requires.* 

These homes or asylums should not, however, be allowed 
to tempt men into entering them, by holding out any expec- 
tations of idleness and absence of occupation. Mankind, 
whenever left free to choose, are, under all circumstances, dis- 
posed to indolence rather than industry, and more particularly 
so, when, their daily bread being secured to them, no special 
or higher ambition stimulates to eifort. The tendency in such 
cases, and with the mass of men, is to sink at once into sloth, 
and to surrender themselves up to habits of idleness and per- 
sonal indifference to the future. To such men, in fact, there 
is no future. To-day is their all in all. Feeling that the State 



* The qualifications for admission to tlie Invalides in France, are as follows : 

1st. The party must be a Military Pensioner. 

2d. He must be ixt^/ years of age, or his infirmities must equal in their 
effects the loss of a limb. (See France, supra.) 

Both at Chelsea and Greenwich Hospitals there arc out as well as in pen- 
sioners. The former receive a small stipend in lieu of support. 



lias adopted tliein for life, tlioy too often allow aiul)itioii and 
self-respect to decline, the moment the necessity to earn their 
daily bread is removed. The Soldier's Home, at Washing- 
ton, is a very striking illnstration of this melancholy truth. 
In the report on this establishment, hereunto appended, it 
is said that "the surgeon considers that the present regula- 
tions, or others more stringent still, should he strictly insisted 
on, in order to keep the establishment in proper order. Men 
with nothing to do are restive under prohibitory laws, and will 
disregard them. This is true of the suj^erannuated, as well 
as the youthful. The diiference between them on the score 
of insubordination is one of degree and not of kind." 

In order to guard against the results of this form of human 
weakness, these Military Homes or Asylums should be semi- 
industrial ; that is to say, that wherever a man can work, he 
should be made to work up to a certain age, and in accordance 
with his ability, the medical officer of the asylum being the 
judge of the number of hours each inmate should be employed 
daily. By these means much of the discontent and restlessness 
Avhich ever attend upon inactivity would l)e avoided; men 
stimulated by the atmosphere of industry about them would 
cultivate habits of frugality — of order and of self-respect, and 
would learn precisely what army life unteaches them, indi- 
viduality and independence. The consciousness of earning 
something — of having a little purse of their own, due solely to 
their individual efforts, and over which governnient had no 
control, would operate as a spur to enterprise, and an invita- 
tion to economy. For, the value of money is truly understood 
by those alone who have made strenuous efforts for its acquisi- 
tion. 

As to the character of the labor to be performed, each man 
should be allowed his choice, where nothing special forbids it. 



29 



and every eftbrt should be luade to stimulate industry by giv- 
ing to the laborer a tithe of the productive result of his industry. 
In this way every one knowing himself to be a participant in 
the gains of the establishment would be stinmlated to increased 
efforts, and the apparent hardship of the enforced toil would 
be done away with. The labor, also, would be stripped of its 
resemblance to convict labor, by the fact of the share allowed 
each one in the nett gains. No excuse would be afforded 
them, therefore, for refusing to work cheerfully and with a good 
will. Having a joint interest with the government in the 
productive industry of the asylum, they would constantly strive 
to increase its annual profits by elevating the quality of tlie 
labor performed, so that in time, from the humblest and 
coarsest artizanship, they would pass to its highest and most 
complex manifestations. And it is not saying too much to 
venture the assertion that invalids might in time come to earn 
at least tvnce the original amount of their pension. 

ESTIMATES OF PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY. 

It is extremely difficult to form any estimates of the possible 
productive industry of Military Asylums. At best these esti- 
mates can only be conjectural, and having no data upon which 
to proceed, we shall be compelled to draw light from such 
sources of information as present the most commendable fea- 
tures for analogy. 

We may safely venture the assertion at the outset, that la- 
bor performed by invalids can not be made as remunerative 
to government as convict labor is to a State. Bearing in mind 
always the difference between the two classes of institutions, 
and the higher aim embodied in the Invalid Home, it will be 
seen at a glance that every advantage in a monetary point of 
view is decidedly in favor of penal institutions. On one side 



30 

is enforced labor, on the other <^i<«6Y-eiit"orced hi])or, Imt al- 
ways graduated in tenderness to the ability of the workman, 
and in that sense largely purged of the character of constraint, 
the laborer having also a share in the protits to operate as an 
incentive to industry. 

In State Prisons, the services of convicts are let to contract- 
ors, who pay a per-dieni for each laborer hired. 

Thus in Massachusetts, in 1859, 332 convicts were employed, 
and yielded by their services to the State, as follows : 



Occupation. Laborers. Per Diem. Receipts. 

Cabinet-making 183 $0 51 $28,530 55 

Whip-makers 9 40 11,908 60 

Stone-cutting 44 60 i 9,025 50 

Tool-sharpening 6 60) 

Brush-making 31 50 4,98100 

Tin-working 4 50 878 00 

Shoe-making 17 per piece. 1,061 89 

do 38 55 2,325 53 

Total 332 $58,217 07 



Thus averaging for each man employed a gain of $175 34 
per annum. The average number of inmates of the institution 
was, for the whole year, 510 ; the expenditures for the same 
time, $87,821 88. Besides the above sum of $58,217 07, the 
labor department was credited, from various sources, with the 
further sum of $11,478 57, making, in all, $69,695 64. This, 
deducted from the expenditures, left $9,173 97 as the deficit 
of the year. But during the next year (1860), the expendi- 
tures fell to $80,243 11, while the receipts rose to $80,747 97, 
an excess of $504 86. Had all the inmates of this institution 
labored during the year 1859, and earned the same average 
amount as did the 332, then, instead of $69,695 64, the amount 
would have been $89,423 40— an excess of $1,601 52. 

It would, of course, be erroneous to suppose that any i)aral- 



31 



lei course could ])e followed in a military asyluui, or any par- 
allel gains derived from the labors of its inmates. The rela- 
tion of the government to invalid soldiers is so entirely 
dissimilar, as to forbid any direct attempt at imitation. The 
difference and the advantage on the score of profit are all on 
the side of penal institutions, which, as the foregoing estimates 
show, may be made entirely self-supporting. Such a degree 
of prosperity could hardly be expected to occur in an eleemo- 
synary institution, the majority of whose inmates, being sick 
and disabled men, could, as a class^ perform l)ut a slight 
amount of labor, and that possibly only at irregular intervals. 
Yet something could be done, however small, and that amount 
might be turned to profit by the Government, in such a way, 
as to re-imburse itself partially. How this lal)or is to be 
regulated, and to what purposes subsidized, is a question of 
internal administration, which need not here l)e enlarged 
upon. It is sufticient to say that there might be attached to 
each asylum one or more Government workshops, in which 
every workingman should receive a certain per diem as 
wages. In these establishments, work suited to the strength 
of invalids might be carried on, and much now purchased 
from individuals be directly manufactured by the Govern- 
ment. Clothing of all kinds for the army and navy ; shoes, 
saddlery, equipments, repair of arms, etc. — all these necessi- 
ties of an army might be met and provided for in this way. 
The men, according to physical ability, might work and be 
paid either by the hour, day, or piece. Not feeling the risk 
of competition, yet assured of fair wages, they would labor of 
their own accord and without compulsion ; and what was 
originally a rule in the establishment, would pass into such a 
custom, that it would be felt a degradation not to work, in all 
who were capable. 



As to the tiiriit" of wages, it could not reasoiuibly be ex- 
pected to be high. If, at the Massachusetts State Prison, 
contractors can afford to give only from forty to sixty cents 
per day for liealthy men working ten hours, it should not be 
expected that the CT(.)vernment placing itself in the position 
of a mainifacjturer, could give its invalid workmen such 
wages as these. At the Soldier's Home in Washington, 
ticenty cents a day are given for work done on the farm. 
Probably in workshops from twenty to forty cents a day 
might be given, or possibly more. But whatever the amount, 
it should never be looked at nor measured by the standard of 
out-door market prices. It is an act of kindness on the part 
of Government to give employment to those whom it is 
already supporting. Therefore, however slight the gains it 
enables them to make, the benefaction embodied in its course 
of dealing should silence discontent and criticism. 

It might, perhaps, be judicious to adopt the plan of work- 
ing by the piece or job, rather than any iixed number of 
hours, since this w'ould throw upon the invalid himself the 
risk of the fatigue involved in the effort to labor. lie could 
work as little or as long as he i)leased, knowing that his 
wages M'ould vary accordingly, and whatever he did, he would 
know best his ability to continue doing. While the rules of 
the Home woidd enjoin lal)or upon all who were capable, the 
spur of wages w^ould greatly increase the number of laborers 
and the products of their industry. The apparent hardship 
of being made to work, would thus in a great measure be 
done away with. Employment brought directly to the hands 
of all willing and capable workmen Avould place the Govern- 
ment in the light of a double benefactor, and secure the best 
foundation for a thrifty administration of its charities. Leav- 
ing the lenii'th of daily toil to be regulated by the stimulus of 



33 



wages us weU as l)y slu!er ])liysi('al capacity, tliei'c could he 
little d(Jiil)t that it would reach a much larger extension in its 
results, than if compulsion alone and not wages entered into 
the incentives to industry. Humanity and economy would 
• both be rc})resented in this i)lan of action, and as all compe- 
tent and industrious invalids would find in it a spliere for in- 
dependent ac(piisition, so all would be interested in the suc- 
cessful working of the })lan. The object e\er to be kept in 
view, would be that of raising the invalid in his t)V\'n estima- 
tion, by proving to him that despite his iniirmities and his 
inal)ility to cope with the healthy in the open labor-market, 
lie is still, by the just and humane provisions of Government, 
rendered a pi-oductive agent in society, useful to his fellow- 
men, and largely, if not completely, self-sustaining. 

Ofdcers, of whatever grade, entering Asylums, should be as- 
signed to positions of connnand corresponding to their abilities. 
They might render themselves extremely useful in positions 
requiring intelligence and administrative talent. As superin- 
tendents of workshops — paymasters — accountants, and the 
like, there would be a wide field opened for their talents; 
while in the military government of the institution, they 
could be assigned important and honorable positions. Nothing 
lowering the grade of their position should be tolerated, for 
many of them would be brought in contact with old com])an- 
ions in arms, whom formerly they had commanded, and it 
would be wrong and unjust, not to say impolitic, to make the 
honorable misfortune of invalidism a reason for lowering them 
relatively in the eyes of their subalterns. Let the dignity of 
their rank and its prerogatives cling to them still. They have 
done their duty; won the approbation of their country, and 
deserve her tenderest regard in all things ajipertaining to 
those professional honors for which they Inive risked health 
5 



34 

and life. Lot not, tlieretoi-e, a siii_<>;le hreatli of iiKliijiiity tai'- 
nisli tlieir fair escutclicon. PaliiKDa <j[tii uiei'uli^fcvai. 

EELINQITISIIMENT OF PENSION. 

It follows almost as a corollary from the foregoing proposi- 
tions, tliat, wlien an Invalid enters such a Home or Asylum, 
lie should, if a private, relinquish his Pension. But if a com- 
missioned officer, then only so much of it as would constitute 
a fair equivalent for his board. 

The present tariff of pensions, as declared l>y the Act of 
July 14, 1862, § 1, is as follows : 

Generals, - - - - \ 

Colonels, - - - - V $30 per month. 

Lieut.-Colonels, - - ) 

Major, ----- 25 " " 

Captain, ----- 20 " " 

1st Lieutenant, - - - 17 " " 

2d. do - - - 15 " 

Non-com. officers, ] q u u 

Musicians and Privates, \ 

The Pension of all officers above the grade of 1st Lieuten- 
ant, being sufficient to support them with economy outside 
of Asylums, it is not likely that many of that class would be 
found in them. Still, entrance being o])tional, some, particu- 
larly in old age, would be very happy to iind a refuge within 
their walls. At the Invalides, in 1802, there were one Major 
and fifteen Captains, besides all inferior grades of officers. It 
is not unlikely that officers of similar rank in our service, nuiy 
occasionally avail themselves of the advantages ])resented by 
these Homes. 

So far as relates to the relincpiishment of the Pension on tlio 
])art of privates, it seems but an act of justice and fair com- 



35 



pensatioii towards the Go^'ernnlent. No one will pretend 
that a man can support himself in idleness upon $8 a month. 
His board alone is worth more than that, computing it even by 
the army ration tal)le of 30 cents a day. Add lodging, clothing, 
fuel, ami washing to this, and the amount would speedily reach 
$2 per week more. These estimates are intended to apply to 
individuals living apart in civil life. When large numbers of 
men, however, are fed together and lodged together, the pro 
rata of each, for cost of living, becomes proportionally less- 
ened, as all know. The cost of maintaining the Invalides, in 
France, is about 2fr. 5()c. per head a day, or 50 cents of our 
money. We could not improve much upon it, although there 
is this to be observed in relation to the Invalides, viz : that 
the establishment is not more than half full, and the addition 
of other imnates would only increase the })rovision bill, but 
not that for the maintenance of the large administrative staff 
of the Hospital. Hence, increasing the number of inmates 
would l)ut slightly, if at all, increase the cost per man for the 
whole institution. 

Assuming, therefore, that a man cannot su})})ort himself in 
idleness upon $S })er month, even to the extent of buying 
only his food and lodging, the Government in undertaking to 
furnish him with both these necessaries, asks but little in re- 
turn, in demanding that he shall relinquish his pension. As 
to clothing, those invalids who cannot work, should have it 
su})plied to them; those who can work should be compelled 
to supply themselves, being allowed, for that purpose, to pur- 
chase it at cost from the Government, or anywhere else they 
nniy please. 

WHAT IS THE BEST SIZE FOR ASYLUMS? 

The experience of all nations shows that in Invalid Ilospi- 



3t) 



tals extremes of size are to be avoided, in an economical point 
of view. This implies also that a very lar^e nnnd)er shonld 
not 1)0 congregated within them. They shonld, in fact, and 
for the most part, be considered as teuiporary establishments, 
which the lapse of the next thirty years will render nnneces- 
sary as a class, dwindling them down to a few leading ones in 
the more populons districts. For, unless war has become the 
normal condition of a nation, and it is perpetually recruiting 
the ranks of its invalid soldiers, the nundjer of these must be 
constantly on the decrease. The laws of vital exhaustion 
operate upon them with much more intensity than upon the 
healthy. Their powers of recuperation have been ^Ke\\ nigh 
exhausted in bringing and keeping them up to the point of 
imperfect convalescence to which they have attained. With 
youth on their side, and while still in the ascending scale of 
life, they may continue apparently in equilibrio for some years, 
but as age creeps on, constitutional exhaustion will show itself 
more and more rapidly, in a lessened ability to recover from 
slight attacks of disease, so that far in anticipation of the natu- 
ral period, and the natural progress of climacteric decline, in- 
valids will be continually succumbing to the latent influences 
of their past, disabling diseases. 

So far as they are concerned, and looking to the ulterior 
probabilities of being able gradually to . diminish the number 
of these institutions, jive hundred would seem as many as 
should be provided for in any asylum. One building, with 
two wings, combining simplicity of style with sufficiency of 
accommodation, could be constructed at no great expenditure. 
These buildings, when become useless as Invalid Hospitals, 
could easily be rendered subservient to other public purposes, 
while, if the numbers in any one of them became so small as 
to render its further maintenance unadvisable, they could be 



37 



transferred to other homes, and these latter added to and en- 
larged to meet the existing necessities. 

Indeed, it is worthy of consideration whether, on the score 
of economy, there slionld not be established in every (State of 
the Union, one or two j}are?if or central Homes, with branches, 
termed Lodges ; one, for example, for each t/irec congressional 
districts, which conld, from time to time, as the nnniber of 
their inmates became reduced Ijelow the average justifying the 
fnrther maintenance of the institution specially for them, 
discharge its invalids into the parent Homes, thus, by con- 
solidating the benefaction, rendering it more economical in 
proportion as the circle of its operations is narrowed. The 
Jiwalides, in Paris, is becoming yearly more costly, because 
the size of the establishment, whatever the number of its in- 
mates, re(piires a fixed category of persons for its administra- 
tive staff. Originally constructed to contain fou/' thoumnd 
inmates, it now contains but two — yet the staff cannot be 
diminished — and the interest on the funded capital, together 
with annual repairs, is rendering the institution one of the 
most extravagant of charities. It costs now some fr. 2.75 a 
day for each inmate, and this cost will continue to increase 
rapidly, and just in proportion as the number of inmates di- 
minishes. This, it strikes us, is about as good a commentary 
upon the inexpediency of building over-large asylums as can 
well be adduced. And we should prove ourselves poor stu- 
dents of history, and sadly illogical economists, did we not 
profit by this experience of the statesmen of other countries. 

In every State, therefore, which has furnished men tor the 
war, and according to its population, there should be erected 
one or more i^arent Homes. The size of these, to meet the 
future necessities before alluded to, should be sufficient to ac- 
commodate five hundred invalids. Or, should such an estab- 



38 



lisliiiieiit not l)c duemed <lef^iral)le in every State, then, and 
for eacli three Congressional Districts, there slionld be a Gov- 
ernment Lodge erected, having attached to it a farm, on 
which invalids might lahor, being, of conrse, paid therefor, as 
at the Soldiers' Home in Washington. Wliat the size of these 
lodges shonld be, will have to be determined by the neces- 
sities of particnlar localities. Some States will have more 
invalids than others, and so with Congressional Districts, 
One fact must be borne in mind in constructing these lodges, 
and that is, tliat we are j)roviding, at the outset, for tlie max- 
imum nund)er of inmates whicli they will l)e called upon to 
contain. For ever after, that nnnd)er will continue to dimin- 
ish, and by keeping this consideration before our eyes, we 
shall not be likely to greatly err in forming estimates of the 
needed size of the estal)lishnient, iu»r the details of its interior 
management. 

GOVEliNMENT OF MILFrARY HOMES. 

It would seem only reasonable that the government of Mil- 
itary Asylums should partake in some degree of the original 
profession of their inmates. As far as ])ossible, it should keep 
alive the spirit of subordination and discipline incidcated in 
the army. For this purpose, invalids should wear a distinc- 
tive uniform, perform light duties, such as guard-mounting, 
and undergo a daily inspection of persons and quarters, suffi- 
cient to maintain an efficient police of the establishment. 

The staff might consist, in the largest-sized Asylums, of 
A Brigadier-CTteneral, as Comnuuuhint and General Su})er- 

intendent ; 

One Colonel, as Lieut. Commandant, (Quartermaster aiul 

Superinteiulent of the Fimmces of the Institution; 



39 



One Lieut. Colonel, as CVtiniiiissarv and Superintendent of 
the Internal Administration; 

One Major, a.s Military Connnandant and Superintendent of 
Police; 

One Surgeon ; 

One Assistant-Suro-eon ; 

One Apotliecarv. 

At the Lodges, a smaller staff, similarly modeled, might 
also he created. 

SOUECES OF SUPPORT. 

Bnt a graver question than all arises in relation to the 
sources whence the support of these Military Asylums or 
Lodges should emanate. Admitting at the outset that, as Na- 
tional Military Homes, they should he erected hy Federal au- 
thority, and the expenses defi'ayed out of the National Treas- 
ury, it will readily occur to all that a certain nundjer of them 
will he required in almost every State of the Union, in order 
to }>rovide t<>r those of its inhahitants who have hec(»me dis- 
ahled in the puhlic service. Their very locality* and their 
necessitated a])propriati(m to the uses of disahled soldiers from 
that particular State, would convert them, in a certain selise, 
into State institutions. If each State is thus provided f(»r, the 
soldiers originally enlisting there, will, when invalided, expect, 
and with justice, to iind a supi)r>rt and a home in their omu 
State. This is a very natural desire, and in ohedience to that 
instin(;t of locality which seeks a luune somewhere, and at- 
taches mankind to the place where they have spent nnu-h of 
their time. ])articularly in youth. It is a desire, therefore, 

*To be deterinineil by Sanitary a.s well as economical considerations. 



40 



wliicli sliould 1)0 not only respected, l)nt encoiira_ii;e(l and cidti- 
vated, as a means for 1 ringing; men within reaeli of original 
liome influences, thus rendering them more willing to M'ork, 
on account of being mider the ol)ser\'ation of those wliose re- 
spect they may l)e presumed anxious to preserye. And, in 
return, it should be considered a great priyilege to be sup- 
ported at public cost in one's own State, instead of being sent 
among strange faces, and in a strange locality, to eke out life 
in some large retreat made intensely dull by its distance from, 
and inaccessibility to, friends and relati^'es. The possible in- 
fluences of home-sickness must not be oyerlooked in regulating 
these matters, for experience shows that men conyalesce much 
quicker at their homes than in lios})itals — the yery idea of 
gomg home acting as a mental stinnilus of the most salutary 
character. But men not only conyalesce more rapidly at 
home, but are better contented wdien placed where they can 
often see and come in contact wdtli their friends. They feel 
themselyes to be within innnediate reach of their sympathy, 
and are satistied that their interference is eyer ready for the 
purpose of correcting any neglect on the part of the goyern- 
ment toward its inyalid dependents. 

Supposing, therefore, the Goyernment to haye proyided in- 
yalids with permanent homes in their own States, a most seri- 
ous problem now presents itself in respect to its future conduct 
tow^ards them, yiz : 

Whether it w expedient that the government and KUjjport of 
the institution should remain in the hands of the Federal au- 
thority^ or whether it should pass into the hands of the State 
authorities f 

This portion of our proposition being likely to gi^-e rise to 
nmch discussion and diyersity of o])inion, we design to examine 
at some length the arguments which haye already been ad- 



41 



duced on either side of the question. In doing this, we shall 
endeavor to avoid throwing any weight into the scales, or com- 
mitting ourselves to one opinion or the other. Believing in 
the expediency of some general system of Asylums, calculated 
upon the basis of the greatest good to the greatest number, we 
do not feel called upon to advocate specially, the details 
flowing out of the operations of such a system. These, we 
are inclined to think, will regulate themselves in compliance 
with that law of public opinion, which inevitably re-asserts its 
authority, however often deposed, through all the important 
transactions of society. Legislation in advance of it will ever 
be crude and nugatory — legislation in arrear of it will ever be 
weak and unsatistixctory. The golden mean will be found in 
the thread of the current itself, and where a mingling of all 
the waters expresses the resultant of their common force. 

Those who believe in the expediency of delegating to the 
States the maintenance of their own invalid citizens, and they 
constitute a majority of the minds with which we have had 
the pleasure and enjoyed the benefit of conferring, argue as 
follows, viz : — 

1st. That the law of opinion as already exhibited through 
the action of several State Legislatures, has, to a certain ex- 
tent, pronounced itself in favor of surrendering to the indivi- 
dual States the maintenance and supervision of their own 
invalid citizens. Wherever such a disposition exists, it would 
be difficult, if not impossible, to combat it, because, however 
generously the Federal Government might act in the founda- 
tion of eleemosynary institutions, it could not prevent the 
States from doing as much, or more, for their own citizens, at 
the same time, through special legislative enactments. In the 
matter of charitable foundations no monopoly or prescriptive 
right attaches itself to sovereignty as its exclusive preroga- 
6 



tive, :iii(l private citizens in their inividiial capacity — or act- 
ing corporately — towns, counties, or States in tlieir larger cor- 
porate capacity, may all equally engage in dispensing benefac- 
tions. In like manner, and wherever several similar sources of 
benefaction co-exist, nothing restricts beneficiaries from exercis- 
ing a choice in the premises, and availing themselves of such as 
are most consonant to their tastes, or best answer their innnedi- 
ate wants. 

If the care of these Asylums were wholly surrendered 
to the States, we should be sure, at the outset, that the 
comfort and support of these war-worn veterans would be 
more jealously guarded by their own State, than could be the 
case were they entrusted to the keeping of the General Gov- 
ernment. It would be considered a tribute of justice to the 
meritorious defenders of their country's honor, and more par- 
ticularly a manifestation of gratitude towards one's own neigh- 
bors, to provide for them in this way. And while there might 
be some differences of opinion in relation to minor matters, 
there could and would be none with respect to the general 
scope of the institution. Local pride, and neighborly feeling, 
would both conspire to make its support as liberal as possible. 
Beyond the reach of political influences, it would stand as a 
landmark, not to be interfered with ; and each citizen, whether 
he had or not relatives within its walls, would feel it his duty 
to strengthen its claims upon the community. Party consid- 
erations would not touch it, because, belonging to the State, its 
interests would be those of all its inhabitants, just as much so 
as Public Schools or Lunatic Asylums. Every connnunity 
Avould have representatives there ; every town and city, and 
political party, would have contributed to the inimber of its 
inmates. In fact, the instinct of local pride — the memory of 
the events typified by the invalids themselves — the historical 
associations clusterini>- about these institutions, would render 



43 



them objects of tender regard and earnest solicitude on the 
part of all citizens. No generosity exercised in their behalf 
would l)e considered extravagant — no benefactions of legisla- 
tive origin woidd be criticised which looked to their support. 
For, not only would feelings of pride and patriotism operate 
to stimulate public opinion into a recognized obligation to the 
invalids in these homes, thus rendering the annual provisions 
for their support a matter as unsusceptible of argument as the 
payment of the Governor's salary, but behind, and antecedent 
to all this, the deeper voice of nature and consanguinity would 
make itself heard and felt, since among invalids would be 
found friends and relatives of all degrees. 

And aside from this, even, nothing of the degrading character 
of pauperism would attach itself to such a form of public char- 
ity, because the objects of it would have become so through 
causes of an ennobling character, and through services which 
all would admit the value of, and feel proud to make so just a 
return for. It would not he difficult to foresee that Soldiers' 
Homes in every State must be popular institutions, which every 
element of local pride would tend to foster and develop. They 
would be indelibly associated with the noblest achievements of 
our day and generation — would form temples in which to garner 
up the living records of a mighty struggle, and where the heroes 
of the conflict could be honored by a nation's gratitude and 
tenderest sympathy. Around them would cluster such memo- 
ries of devotion to the public service as would strip the sup- 
port of their Homes of all semblance of a burthen upon the 
generosity of the State. The Soldiers' Home, with its war- 
worn inmates, its museum of trophies, and its legendary 
storehouse of adventures by " flood and field," would be a 
shrine for visitors, and the centre of an undying historical in- 
terest. All citizens would feel themselves bound to it l)v tics 



u 



of tlic closest kind. All would make it more or less of a per- 
sonal concern to foster its snecessful administration, and it 
would stand in singular contrast to all other institutions, in 
being kept untainted by political chicanery or interference. 
But another and a more important consideration would be 
found in the fact, that the nearer the source of benefaction to 
the invalids themselves, the more likely would it be to satisfy 
all. Were it possible always to support them at home, it 
would be by far the best way ; but since this cannot always 
occur, then we must see that the distance between the bcnefoc- 
tor and the beneliciary is as small as possible. Home is the 
best purveyor of all — next to it the town — next the county — 
next the State — and last, the General Government. 

2d. That after the rebellion shall be quelled, and the au- 
thority of the Federal Government re-established, it must fol- 
low that Asylums will be needed in all of the Border States. 
These States have contributed men as well to crush, as to 
help the rebellion. By strict right, Union soldiers, alone, 
should be admitted into Asylums ; but where society is en- 
tirely revolutionized, disoi-ganized, in fact, in its munici- 
pal relations, as it now is throughout the South, it will be im- 
possible to avoid extending help to the maimed and suffering 
rebel soldiers who, after the war, will unquestionably resume 
their allegiance, and become entitled to the protection of the 
United States as citizens. We do not exclude wounded ene- 
mies from our hospitals, but nurse and tend them, side by 
side with our own men, until they recover. The Govern- 
ment has even had to go farther. Since the fall of Yicksburg, 
it has issued rations to thousands of poor people whose pre- 
vious position had been one of hostility towards it, yet ^^'llo 
could not be left to starve. These rations belonged to the 
army ; they were paid for by the loyal ]^eople, aiul intended 



45 



to feed those wlio were periling their Kves to re-assert the au- 
thority of our Government. 

After the war, tlie Border as well as the other Southern 
States will be overrun with the maimed, and crippled rem- 
nants of the rebel army. What shall be done with them? 
Humanity will not pause to incpiire which side they fought 
on. If they are too sick or maimed to work, and are in dan- 
ger of starving, they must be fed. By whom ? The Govern- 
ment. Is this just ? Abstractly speaking. Yes ; because they 
are its citizens. But relatively, and as regards their personal 
claim, No. The burthen of their support should devolve upon 
the State which sent them forth, and if the Government 
builds the Asylum, it does all that it should, since the citi- 
zens of the loyal States, whose money has enabled it to bestow 
this benefaction, should not be taxed to support for life 
those, whose only claim upon them is the misfortune of hav- 
ing failed to destroy that Government, from which they 
are now compelled to ask a support. Therefore, and in 
an economical point of view, the States, as States, should be 
not only allowed hut required to maintain the Asylums cre- 
ated in their midst by the Government, on the principle that 
this would be a just distribution of the burthens of the war, 
instead of fastening them peq^etually iTpon the people of the 
loyal States. 

The objections m-ged against this plan, are, that the annual 
appropriations for the support of Military Asylums would not 
be as reliable, if left to State Legislatures, as to Congress, and 
some Western States are cited in illustration, in one of which 
in particular, an omission to provide the annual appropriation 
for a State Lunatic Asylum, rendered it necessary to close the 
institution and to scatter its pauper inmates. 

Granting this to have happened once, and in one State, or 



40 



even that it will require several years to so reorganize munici- 
pal institutions, including pauper asylums, in the South, as to 
enable sufficient provision to be made for the destitute sick 
and maimed rebel soldiers — granting this, it is replied, that 
such facts should not be received as a valid argument 
against the system of State support, which is advocated above, 
because they are in their very nature temporary, and would 
stinnilate efforts to redress the wrong thus committed. For, ad- 
mitting that any Legislature should again neglect to perform 
its duty in this particular, or that relating to any similar elee- 
mosynary institution, the Executive could easily enough pro- 
vide means, through the credit of the State, to support such 
institution until the next session of that body, and no one will 
pretend that any Legislature, whose members are elected an- 
nually would dare to neglect for a second time its Invalid 
Asylums, Certainly, if it did, its members might well hesitate 
to confront their constituents, whose indignation would lead 
them to administer a rebuke in forms not easily forgotten. 

Another objection and flowing out of this, is, that while in 
some States the annual appropriations would be large, and 
the inmates of these homes pampered, in others, the appropria- 
tion would be barely sufficient to maintain the establishment. 

It is urged that were Congress the general almoner for all, 
this could not happen, since a graduated scale of the necessities 
of each Asylum, founded upon the number of inmates — cost 
of living in that locality, and its productive industry — would 
always guide the government in making a just appropriation 
for all. By these means all Invalids would be equally provided 
for, in whatever State of the Union dwelling, and there would 
be no feelings of envy cherished tow\ards those who, under a dif- 
ferent dispensation, might be known to be luxuriating in com- 
forts not shared by others. 



47 

The answer made to an ol)jecti()n of this kind is, that no re- 
strictions can, or slionld be pnt upon tlie amount which States 
may choose to appropriate towards the maintenance of their 
own invalid citizens. This is a matter which, like private 
charity, concerns the giver alone. If some can afford and 
choose to give them comforts which others can not, or will not, 
this is one of those self-regarding acts over which outsiders 
have no cause to complain. It is not a wrong against either 
individuals or society ; takes nothing from any man, that he 
possessed before, and is simply doing with one's own, according 
as fancy dictates and law allows. It may possibly be said that 
the example w^ould be bad, and tend to dispirit the less-favored 
Invahds in other States. This might indeed happen, and 
w^ould, doubtless, were the distinction in comforts to be made 
by the Government, instead of States ; but so far as these are 
concerned, their method of treating their own Invalids would 
be considered a matter of home policy and private right, with 
which no citizens of other States could justly find fault. 

Such are the arguments adduced in behalf of, and against 
State support of Military Asylums. Both sides press their 
claims with ecpial urgency — both sides equally desire the 
greatest good to the greatest number. And, while holding 
ourselves aloof from the exjiression of any preference, we still 
feel compelled to say that the majority of those consulted (and 
they include gentlemen of all shades of political ojunion) are 
agreed, under the aspect of justice to the whole country, in 
recognizing the superior advantage of State over Federal sup- 
port for this class of institutions. 

But should the government and support of such institutions 
pass under the control of the several States within whose bor- 
ders they are situated, it might be advisable that the still na- 
tional character of the Asylums should be represented through 



48 



its Ijoard of overseers or directors. In every State tJiere might 
be one Central Board, consisting of the — 

Governor, ex-ojficio, 

Attorney-General, 

Comptroller, 

Chief Justice of its Superior Coiu't, 

District Judge of the United States, 
" Attorney " " 

■ " Sub-Treasurer " " 

Or, there might be a special board appointed, consisting of non- 
official persons, who, without salary or perquisites of any kind 
attaching themselves to their office, should direct the affairs of 
the institution. It is too generally found that persons called 
upon to perform, in addition to regularly aj^pointed official du- 
ties, others, virtute officii^ are apt to neglect these latter, and to 
surrender their direction into inferior hands ; besides which, it 
does not follow tliat, because an individual holds a high official 
position, he is necessarily qualified to give the best advice in re- 
lation to matters of a special character. The wheel of political 
fortune too often elevates into positions of trust, those whose 
(puxlifications least fit them for the discharge of their duties. 
To ascribe wisdom to such characters, ex officio, is to mistake a 
mannikin for a man, simply from the incident of resendjlance 
in form. It would be better, on all accounts, therefore, to se- 
lect a board of directors for these Asylums from among edu- 
cated, discreet, and honorable laymen, who, serving from 
choice, and not ex officio, for the honor of the duty instead of 
the emoluments flowing out of its discharge, would keep the 
government of the institution free from all inii)utations of a 
mercenary character. 

OEPIIANS OF INVALIDS. 
It might be desirable, also, in this connection, to inquire in 



49 



what way the orphans of soldiers could best be provided for. 
This class of beneficiaries has too many claims upon our sym- 
pathy not to receive an early and earnest attention, and 
everything should be done to guard them against the misfor- 
tunes liable to ensue from the loss of their natural protector. 
Attached to Military Asylums or Lodges, and forming part of 
them, there might be homes and schools for children, where 
they could be cared for during their minority. Like many of 
the industrial schools already established throughout the 
country, these institutions might impart instruction, not only 
in letters, but also in most of the manual arts. Children 
could thus serve an apprenticeship at a trade, and receive the 
rudiments of a good, sound education, at the same time. The 
larger inmates, say after sixteen years of age, should be dis- 
charged, as soon as competent to earn their living, in this 
way steadily diminishing the numbers to be supported. Only 
the infirm, or idiotic, should remain permanent residents of 
the Home, it being but just that they should be maintained 
through life, precisely as their father would have been had he 
become an inmate of the Asylum. Widows unable to support 
their children upon the father's pension, should be allowed to 
place them in the Home on surrendering one-half their pen- 
sion. Invalid soldiers, inmates of Asylums, wdio are widowers 
with children, should, in like manner, be allowed the privilege 
of placing them in a Home. But if able to earn anything, 
the invalid should be compelled to pay a minimum price for 
the support of his children, on the principle that, in support- 
ing him, the State has done her full duty of grateful return 
for services received. Any invalid at all able to work, could 
afford to pay from fifty cents a week upwards, for a child's 
board, and where he had over four to support, no additional 
charge should be made for any beyond this number. The ob- 
7 



50 



ject in view should Le that of keeping alive parental concern 
for the welfare of offspring, a feeling too apt to bec()nie ex- 
tinguished by removing the burthen and responsibility of 
their support from off the shoulders of those on whom it 
should always rest. Indeed, much of the stimulus to labor 
would be destroyed by withdrawing this incentive, wherever 
it exists, from invalids. A man who takes no pride in sup- 
porting his own children has already lost a large part of his 
self-respect. 

As to the mode of distributing the burthen of su])porting 
Military Asylums among the different counties or towns of a 
State, this would be a matter for the determination of its own 
legislature. It would seem just that those towns sending 
most inmates to the Asylums should contribute most to their 
support. But whether the tax should be based upon such a 
foundation as that, or not, is a question of subordinate im- 
portance, and not properly to be discussed in this connection. 

MODE OF APPOINTING OFFICERS, AND TENUIIE 
OF OFFICE. 

These institutions, when passed under the control of- the 
State, should he governed l)y officers appointed by their Boards 
of Directors. Under this aspect of things, both the general 
government and the State might be represented in the appoint- 
ing power. A two-thirds vote should be necessary for the 
election of all commissioned officers, who, in turn, could, in 
like manner, elect their subalterns. The tenure of office 
should be for life, or during good liehavior. No removal 
sliould be made but upon good cause, and l)y the same power 
that created the officer, sitting as any court with open doors ; 
and the defendant should be allowed time and counsel to 



51 



prepare his defence. T\V(»-tliirds of the court shoiikl agree 
upon the judgment pronounced, which should also be final. 

It seems almost superfluous to suggest that invalid officers 
should have the preference given them hi appointments of 
this kind. Indeed, there is everv reason "whj they alone 
should be selected to fill such positions. Their familiarity 
with forms of military administration and discipline, without 
which such an establishment could not be carried on ; their 
knowledge of the character and tastes of the inmates, many of 
tliem having been their old compani(;»ns in arms — their official 
tenure being for life, and thus freed from the effects of politi- 
cal vicissitudes — all these things would conspire to render 
tliem just, humane, and independent administrators of the 
trust of government reposed in their hands. 

TEEMS OF ADMISSIONS. 

In order to gain admission into a Military Home, the inva- 
lid shoidd present the certificate of an examining Pension 
Surgeon, setting forth the chai-acter of his disability, and its 
effects upon his ability to earn his living, and to this should 
l)e added the affidaA^its of two respectable and disinterested 
freeholders residing in the same town with him, and knowing 
him personally — setting forth the following facts, viz : 

1st. That he has no home, or cannot support liimself at his 
liome upon his pension ; or, 

'■2(7. That he requires the care of an attendant which he can- 
not aftbrd to supply for himself. 

The following condensed reports relating to the history, 
statistics, and operations of the French Ilopital des luvalides 
and the Prussian Invalid Ilouse, at Berhn, will scive some 



6S 



general idea of the manner of conducting sncli institutions in 
Europe, together witli the results obtained from them. It will 
be found that, wherever well administered, they prove a source 
of immense benefit, not only to invalid soldiers, but also to the 
general public, which, otherwise, would constantly be called 
upon to distribute charity in immethodical forms to this class 
of persons. By reducing benefactions to a system, duly regu- 
lated and carried on with precision and justice, there is found 
to be economy in it, and the certainty that few if any unworthy 
persons will obtain support under this form of dispensation ; 
whereas, when the public undertakes to distribute assistance 
indiscriminately, it is rarely the case that the unworthy do 
not come in for a share, and thus diminish that properly be- 
longing to the meritorious. We have among many Asylums 
selected these two, because the most thoroughly organized 
and efhciently managed institutions of the kind in Europe ; 
and while we could not, for reasons hereinbefore stated, 
wish to see their system adopted and imitated among us, 
without alteration, there is still so much of good in the 
practical details of these establishments as to render them 
worthy of close study. And in this connection we have also 
added some details of the object and purposes accomplished by 
our own Soldier's Home at "Washington. 

FRANCE. 



exhibited a grateful appreciation of the labors of her military 
class, and given it preferred claims upon public regard. The 
common sentiment everywhere recognized, that a country 
owes to its defenders an honorable support, whenever wounds 
or disease incurred in the public service unfit them to pro- 
vide for themselves, has received large attention, and been 



53 



practically incorpoi'ated into French legislation from time im- 
memorial. Charlemagne, remembering like Augustus, the 
services of his veterans, cast about liim for means wherewith 
to support them at the public cost, and finding wealth no- 
where more abundant, or more uselessly employed, than in the 
monasteries, compelled those institutions to accept his invalid 
soldiers as beneficiaries, where, under the designation of lay 
monks, they received an alimentary pension. These persons, 
afterwards known as ohlatiy became a recognized class under 
all succeeding dynasties. They lived in ecclesiastical houses, 
and performed, in return for their support, such minor ofiices 
as bell-ringing, sweeping, etc., etc. 

The wise and refined Philip Augustus was the first mon- 
arch who bethought himself of collecting the scattered vete- 
rans in one national institution. His successors, to a greater or 
less extent, followed his example, although it was not till the 
reign of Louis XIV. that anything like a permanent institu- 
tion was established. 

It is to the munificence of this prince that the Hotel des 
Invalides owes its origin. By a royal decree of August 15, 
1670, he announced the creation of this establishment, whose 
construction began the succeeding year under Louvois and 
the celebrated architect Bruant. By referring to the details 
of its present management, and the statistics furnished by Dr. 
Faure, Medical Director of the Invalides, we shall see that the 
institution is becoming annually more and more costly, in pro- 
portion as the number of its inmates diminishes. Originally 
designed for some four thousand inmates, and with a military 
and civil staff proportioned to this number, the institution is, 
except in the case of old men incapable of self-support and 
having no homes of their own, generally avoided by the young 
and middle-aged whose pensions, under the late increase, ena- 



tA 
ble them to live at lioine and more iiulependently. lleiicc the 
cost per man at the Hotel, is <>;radually increasing, as the 
nnmber of inmates diminishes ; and for this there can be no 
help, until, by reason of the paucity of numbers, the invalids 
are transferred to some smaller and less costly establishment. 
In no continental nation are pensions more liberal in their ex- 
tent, and less distinctions of caste made in alloting them, than 
in France. 

The democratic theory, which not only authorizes, but in 
every way encourages meritorious promotions from the ranks, 
guides, with true consistency, the legislation of puljlic bene- 
factions. The soldier is not forgotten on the pension-roll, 
however humble may be his social antecedents, nor is the 
officer unduly rewarded, because of his rank simply. A sin- 
gle exception to this rule exists in the case of a Field Mar- 
shal's salary, which may be increased at the pleasure of the 
Emperor — a concession to sovereignty which is evidently a 
transmitted figment of the Koman law {Quod jplaGuit princijn 
legis hahet mgorem). 

Aside from this, the pension fund is liberally distributed, 
and since the Crimean war the pro rata of its distribution 
has been steadily increasing, so as to enable them to live at 
home, and follow, by the supplemental aid thus afforded 
them, different occupations : in a word, to encom-age self- 
support, and to discourage resort to national asylums. This 
is a feature worthy of imitation by all nations. 

The foundation of every claim to a pension, made by an 
officer or soldier, must rest upon the following facts, which 
are to be proved : 

\8t. That the wounds, or disease causing disability, are se- 
rious and incurable. 

%l. That they were incurred in the line of duty. 



2>d. For an ojjieer — that tliey disable liim for taking the 
Held, or ever returning to active duty. 

4:th. For a non-cohimissioned ojficcr or 2>/"fvate — that they 
disable him from taking the field or earning his own living. 

Fer Contra. — Xo pension is allowed an officer who, although 
wounded or invalided for irre^ent.^ is not disabled for future 
service. 

In like manner, no pension is allowed a non-conmiissioned 
officer or private who, although wounded or invalided, is not 
disabled from earning his own living. 

kStatistical Details of the Hotel des Invalides, furnished hij 
Dr. Faure., Medical Director. 

The Hotel des Invalides, since 1848, has ceased to be car- 
ried on by private enterprise. It is now du'ectly administered 
at the expense of the State, by a military superintendent. 
The governor of the institution is a Marshal of France, and 
has under his charge both the government and financial affairs 
of the asylum. 

The government consists of — 

l*^. A Brigadier-General on active duty, whu is the com- 
mandant of the Hotel. 

2rZ. A Colonel (Major) and eight Adjutants (Major), 
The twelve divisions into which the Invalids are classified, 
are commanded by — 

12 Chiefs of division (line or non-connjiissioned Invalid offi- 
cers). 

12 Adjutants. 

12 Under Adjutants. 



56 

FiNAJsrciAL Administration. 
This departnient consists of — 
One military Under Commissary, of the iirst chiss. 
One assistant " " " 

Medical Department. 
One Chief Physician, i One Chief Apothecary, 

Nine Assistant " I Two Assistant " 

Twenty-six Sisters of Charity. 

Domestic Administration. 
One Director, 
Eiglit Assistants. 

Two hundred Servants (civilians). 
Five military Ward-masters, in the Infirmary. 
Ten Under-Servants (civilians). 

"Worship. 
One Cnrate and two Chaplains. 

Care of Buildings. 
One Architect and one Inspector. 

Barracks and Quarters. 
One Chief Superintendent, from the Engineer Corps. 

DIETAEY. 

staff officers' ordinary. 

Per Day. 1st. 750 grammes (1-^ pounds) Bread, whence are 
deducted 62 grammes (2^ oz.) for sonp, which are replaced on 
Sunday by an equal quantity of rice or vermicelli, alternately. 

2d. 250 grammes (J pound) of Boiled Beef. 

Per Week. 7 dishes of Meat (i pound). Veal or Mutton, 
roasted or stewed. 



57 

10 dishes of Meat, (200 grammes, or 2-5 of a pound,) Yeal 
or Mutton, dressed with vegetables, and of Beef-a-la-mode. 

Once a week, 3 hard-boiled Eggs, or 2 fried, or in omelet, 
or scrambled. 

Twice a week, (Wednesda}^ and Snnday), ^ of a roast 
chicken, with cresses. 

Per WeeJc. 10 dishes of green vegetables. 
5 do. ofdr}' do. 

On Thursday, a dish of potatoes, beans, or lentils, dressed 
with oil, alternately. 

Daily. A dish of salad, (250 grammes oil), for twelve officers. 

Two kinds of dessert, cheese and fruits. 

A quart of wine. 

The ordinary of the subaltern officers (Captains, Lieutenants, 
Adjutants and Assistant Adjutants), is similar in character to 
that of staff officers, with 's\\q exception of having one dish 
less at each meal. 

ORDmAEY OF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND PRR'ATES. 

Per Bay. 750 grammes (1^ pounds) bread, from which 62 
grammes (2|- oz.) are deducted for soup, being replaced on 
Sundays and festivals by an equivalent weight of rice or ver- 
micelli, alternately. 

250 grammes (^ pound) of boiled beef. 

1 quart of wine for officers and soldiers. 

1 pint do. for drunnners. 

Per Weelc. 5 dishes of meat, of 150 grammes (| pound) to 
each man, one of them dressed with vegetables, and which 
shall be served as follows, viz ? 

f One of veal. 

J? AT -I ^ 4. o J- o/iti Two of mutton, 
l^rom May 1st to feept. dOtli. i r\ *> i ^ -i x^ 

•^ ^ \ One 01 brazed heei, or roast 

[ veal, alternately. 
8 



■5« 



f One of veal. 

i^ r\ ^ oAii ^ A '1 OA4-1 1 Two of Mutt cm. 
ln-(im()ct. 30tli to Ap 1 rSOth. -^ ,. ,. , . , ,. .. , 

^ I One (>t hrajced heei, s^alt ])ork, 

[ or veal alternately. 

Per Week. Seven times frej^li vegetables, and tive times 
(liT ones. On Tuesdays a disli of potatoes, lentils or beans, 
alternately, and dressed with oil. On Tuesdays three liard 
boiled eggs, or two eggs fried or in an omelet, alternately. 

On Sundays a dish of salad with 250 grannnes of oil for 12 
persons. 

On Fridays 125 grannnes (1-4 lb.) cheese. 

EATIONS. 

FOR STAFF OFFICERS. 

C)f ham or sausage, 92 grammes (1-5 lb.). 
•' chickens — 3 for 12 officers. 
'' young turkeys — 2 for 12 officers. 
" pigeons — 1 per officer. 

" fricassee of chickens or ducks — 3 for 12 officers. 
" vegetal)les — asparagus, green peas, string-beans, dried 

beans, artichokes, cauliflowers, parsnips. 
Cheese. — Gruyere, Dutch, Brie, Neufchatel, 3-4 of a kilo- 
gramme (1 1-4 lbs.) per 12 officers. 
Defisert fruits. — Apricots or peaches, 1 or 2, according to size, 
per officer. 

Plums, 4 to (>, according to size. 
Pears, 2 to 3, " 

Raisins, cherries, currants, or strawberries, 1,500 
grammes (3 lbs.) per 12 officers. 
Preserved fruiis. — Apples or pears, 1 or 2 — as above. 

Prunes, or brandy pears, 1,500 grammes (3 lbs.) jx'r 
12 (.fficers. 



59 



Sweetmeats. — Ciirraiit jelly, niarinaladc of plums, or apricots, 

750 graiuines (1 1-2 11 )S.) per 12 officers. 
Per Year. — Twice, roasted clicstiuits (12 to each man); twice, 

mixed dried fruits, 1,500 grammes (;3 ll)s.) ])er 12 
officers. 

Six times, sponge cake. 

Once, oranges (at the Epiphany). 

SUBALTERN OFFICEKS : 

The dishes of meat (at dinner and supper) follow each other 
in the following order, viz : 

Iloast veal, brazed mutton, brazed beef, Irish mutton stew,* 
plain stewed veal or mutton, blanquette of veal, salt pork. 

DETAILS : 

The weight of each beef, when dressed, must amount, in dis- 
tributable flesh, to kilo's 300 (700 lbs.) 

The weight of each calf 45 (117 ll)s.) 

" " " sheep 18 ( 45 lbs.) 

Fresh vegetables for officers are dressed with un-salted but- 
ter, at the rate of 230 grs. (2-5 lb.) per 12 officers. For sul)al- 
terns and privates wdth 230 grs. half-salted butter per 12 men. 

Dried vegetables for officers, with 250 grs. (1-2 lb.) of fresh 
butter ; for subalterns and priv;ites with 250 grs. half-salted 
butter per 12 men. 

Chickens must weigh, each 1,400 grannnes (2 4-5 lbs.) 

Young turkeys " " 2,100 grannnes (4 2-5 lbs.) 

* To make a mutton stew for the Hotel des Invalides reciiiires 37 sheep. 



60 
CLOTHING. 

Overcoat, (diiration three 3'ears.) 

Coat, " " 

Vest, " " 

Hat, 

Cap, 

Pantaloons, '' one year. 

Drawers, " " 

Half-gaiters and collars, " 

Socks, shoes and hdkf s,, four months. 

Woolen caps and suspenders, three years. 

Flannel waistcoats and drawers, eighteen months. 

(Signed) Faure, 



61 



Tahle of Mortality fro )ii Jan. 1*^, 1839, to Jan. ist, 1862. 



Year. 

1839 


Number in 
Hospital. 

3,000 

2,920 

2,940 

2,950 


Number of 
Admissions. 

"256 
440 
331 
330 
327 
399 
411 
381 
367 
442 
351 
281 
230 
135 


Deaths. 

205' 
216 

222 
242 
254 
218 
260 
227 
292 
270 
392 
340 
334 
279 
332 
419 
347 
289 
317 
307 
300 
313 
264 


Proportio 

per 1,000 

68 

73 

75 

82 

86 

73 

88 

77 

98 

91 
135 
117 
105 

91 
110 
139 
118 

99 
109 
105 
106 
114 
108 


* Observations. 


1840 




1841 




1842 




1843 


2,940 




1844 


2,960 

2,930 

2,930 

2,960 

2,950 

2,901 

2,899 

3,165 

3,047 




1845 




1846 




1847 




1848 




1849 

1850 


Cholera year 


1851 




1852 




1853 

1854 

1855 


3,007 

3,005 

2,929 

2,894 

2,893 

2,912 

2,826 

2,639 

2,430 


Cholera year 
Cholera year 


1856 




1857 




1858 




1859 




1860 




1861 








Total 


67,027 


4,675 


6,639 


98 




Average 


2,915 


334 


288 





Table cf Admissiom frohi Jan. 1st, 1848, to Jan. Ist., 1862. 



BY AGES [decennary). 

Year. 20-30. 31-40. 41-50. 51-60. 01-70. 71-80. 81-90. 91-100. 

1848 8 6 12 31 115 73 

1849 8 16 14 82 229 86 

1850 11 11 7 39 179 78 5 1 

1851 12 12 12 40 159 85 10 

1852 9 20 12 38 154 75 19 

1853 8 19 13 38 184 125 12 

1854 14 19 8 45 199 111 15 

1855 7 18 18 34 175 108 21 

1856 10 13 10 37 159 121 15 

1857 27 26 11 53 194 110 21 

1858 17 21 11 25 169 96 12 

1859 20 14 8 46 93 86 14 

1860 12 11 7 32 90 69 8 1 

1861 10 5 7 17 49 41 6 

Total 173 211 



150 557 2,148 1,264 168 



Total pel 
annum. 
250 
244 
331 
330 
372 
399 
411 
381 
307 
442 
351 
281 
230 
135 

4,675 



62 



Pro-rata of Admission hy Categories of Age. 





Admis- 


Pro-rata p 


er 1,000 


Prorata per 


1,000 


P)o-rata per 


1,000 




Year. 




from 


from 




from 




Obsei-vatioiis. 






20 to 60 


years. 


60 to 70 yt 


ars. 


71 to 90, &c. 


yrs. 




1848, 


250 


228 


per 


1,000 


460 per 1,000 


312 per 1,000 


These tables ex- 


1849, 


440 


250 




" 


520 




230 




hibit the constant 


1850, 


331 


205 




" 


540 




255 




increase in the age 


1851, 


330 


230 






480 




290 




of invalids, and 


1852, 


327 


241 




" 


470 




289 




tlie large propor- 


1853, 


399 


195 




>' 


461 




344 




tion still furnish- 


1854, 


411 


209 




" 


484 




307 




ed by the soldiers 


1855, 
1856, 


381 
367 


202 
190 




,, 


459 
433 




339 
377 




of the 1st empire. 


1857, 


442 


263 




" 


438 




299 




PER CONTRA. 


1858, 


351 


210 




" 


481 




309 




The diminution 


1859, 


281 


313 




" 


320 




367 




in the aggregate 


1860, 


230 


269 




<' 


391 




340 




number is due to 


1861, 


135 


288 




" 


362 




348 




the gradual ex- 




















haustion of the 




4,675 
















same class. 



Statistics of the Infirmary. 



DEATHS, BY AOES. 



§ s 





< 


•a 3 


5i 


CO 


5! 


3 


3 


j:; 


So 





H 


K 


1845, 


1,240 


1,046 ... 


3 


4 


5 


34 


76 


118 


20 


2 


258 


208 


1846, 


1,358 


1,089 ... 


1 


1 


3 


24 


50 


122 


24 


3 


228 


167 


1847, 


1,376 


1,102 ... 


>> 




1 


25 


78 


141 


35 


•> 


284 


206 


1848, 


1,313 


1,069 ... 


1 


3 


4 


20 


84 


128 


26 


1 


267 


203 


1849, 


1,541 


1,145 ... 


2 


5 


4 


27 


113 


201 


31 




383 


248 


1850, 


1,291 


964 1 




2 


1 


17 


115 


158 


30 


1 


325 


251 


1851, 


1,501 


1,176 ... 


'> 


1 


3 


13 


100 


154 


46 




319 


212 


1852, 


1,473 


1,189 ... 


1 


2 


2 


8 


93 


139 


26 




271 


183 


1853, 


1,444 


1,119 ... 


•J 


4 


T 


14 


91 


146 


62 




320 


221 


1854, 


1,556 


1,185 ... 




7 


3 


16 


129 


184 


68 


i 


408 


262 


1855, 


1,475 


1,123 ... 


6 


3 


5 


17 


104 


159 


63 




347 


235 


1856, 


1,345 


1,062 ... 


1 


1 


5 


9 


76 


112 


71 




275 


204 


1857, 


1,490 


1,156 ... 




2 


2 


10 


80 


144 


56 


4 


298 


200 


1858, 


1,433 


1,147 ... 




5 


2 


3 


65 


155 


65 




295 


205 


1859, 


1,338 


1,074 ... 


i 


2 


5 


13 


76 


145 


52 


(i 


300 


187 


1860, 


1,268 


915 ... 




'> 


2 


10 


72 


157 


68 


2 


313 


209 


1861, 


1,125 


880 ... 
18,441 1 


22 


3 
47 


2 

50 


9 
269 


64 
1,466 


128 
2,491 


55 

788 


1 
23 


262 
5,157 


220 


Total, 


23,567 


218 



ComjKtrative Mortality of Ages. 

21 to 30 years, Mortality per 1,000 5 



31 to 40 
41 to 50 
51 to 60 
61 to 70 
71 to 80 
81 to 90 
91 to 100 



9 

9..6 

52 

284 

483 

152 

4..5 



63 



Statistical information relating to the Government of the 
Hotel (le^; Invalides. 

1st. QUALIFICATIONS FOE ADMISSION. 

1. The party nmst he a military pensioner. 

2. He mnst he sixty years old, (»r his iniirmities must e(pial 
in their eflf'ects the loss of a liml). 

2d. Mean Age of Invalids ; their number and rank. 

The whole number of Invalids on the 25th of October, 1802, 
was 2,099, viz : 

Gratuity. 
1 Major, 20 francs per month. 

15 Captains, 10 " " 

23 Lieutenants, 8 " " " 

23 2d. Lieutenants, 7 " " " 

33 Adjutants, Regular Pay. 

5 Adjutants (warrant-officers,) 5 francs per month. 

7 Captains-honorary, 5.33 " '' 

58 Lieuteiiants-honoraiy, 4 " " " 

33 Sergeants major, 5 " " " 

354 Sergeants, 4 " " " 

281 Corporals, 3 " 

1250 Privates, 2 " " " 

16 Drummers, (soldier's sons,) . 

2099 Total. 

AGE. 

The following were the classitications, according to age, of 
the 2311 Invalids at the Hotel, on the 27th day of May, 1861. 



64 



Drummers, from . . 10 to 1(1 years, 10 

Invalids, " . . 21 to 30 " IS 

" .. 31 to 40 " 64 

" .. 41 to 50 " 86 

" .. 51 to 60 " 161 

" " .. 61 to 70 " 821 

" . . 71 to 80 " 977 

" " . . 81 to 90 " 165 

" " . . 91 to 100 " 3 

Total, 2,311 

The mean age, counting Invalids alone, is GS years. 

Of the 2,311 invalids, not more than 15 or 20 are soldiers 
of the Crimean and Italian wars. This results from the fact 
that, since that time, the rise in the scale of pensions has ena- 
bled Invalids to live at home, in preference to going into tlie 
Hotel. 

PROPOKTION OF INVALIDS ABLE TO LABOR. 

Of the 2,083 invalids, (excluding the 16 drummers,) pres- 
ent at this time (Oct. 25th, 1862), only al)out 800 arc a])le to 
mount guard, so that each man's turn comes round once in 
ten days. Tliis leaves some 1,300 Invalids incapable of any 
kind of labor. 

EXPENDITURES. 

The expenses of 1861 amounted to Frs. 2,313,744 41 as fol- 
lows : 

Repairs of Buildings, 124,000 00 

Salaries of Ofhcers, 323,246 78 

Pay and Maintenance of Invalids, 108,432 05 

Subsistence, 1,758,065 58 

Frs. 2,313,744 41 ' 



^5 

By dividing this sum (less outlays fur repairs), aniouiiting 
to 2,180,744 41 frs, by 2302, the average number of inmates 
for 1861, we obtain 951 francs as the average annual cost 
of each Invalid, or, including repairs, the annual cost is 
1.0051 frs., or frs. 2.75 per diem. 

EMPLOYMENT OF INVALIDS, (m doors.) 

Chiefs and Adjutants of Divisions 33 

Orderlies 17 

Doorkeepers 10 

Ward-masters, or Overseers 12 

In the various offices 14 

Internal military service 77 

Total occupied daily 163 

OUT-DOOE SERVICES. 

Invalids, when not on duty, are free to dispose of their 
time, and many (some 130) thus find employment about the 
city, in lawyers' or sheriffs' offices, or as superintendents' of 
buildings in process of construction. Some again, amounting 
to 188, who are authorized to lodge in town, draw their 
rations in kind. 

The government furnishes no means of employment in the 
Hotel. 

INFIRMAEY. 

The average number of sick in the infirmary, is about 200 
in summer, to 300 in winter. The mean annual mortality is 

289. 

9 



66 

LABOR OF INVALIDS. 

Invalids are free to labor according as tliey can find oppor- 
tunity. Tlieir gratuity {solde de menu besoin) being insutii- 
cient to meet tlieir necessary expenses, they supplement it 
either by the fruits of their labor, or by the sale of a portion 
of their rations. 

PERSONAL EXPENSES. 

Livalids receive in food, drink, and clothing, all that is 
necessary ; nevertheless, it is to be regretted that they are 
chargeable with the following items of expenditure, viz : 

1^^. Hair-cutting and shaving. 

'2id. Purchase of soap, brushes and blacking. 

3c7. Washing of flannel drawers and waistcoats ; st)cks, 
pocket handkerchiefs, etc. 

A commission has been appointed to revise the organization 
of the Hotel, and will, in all probability, change the existing 
state of things in this particular. 

(Signed) Faure. 

October 25, 18G2. 

Mcdiciil Director of the Invcalicles. 

PRUSSIA. 

INVALID HOUSE OF BEKLIN. 

C(M of Maintenance i^er Head. 

This Invalid Asylum contains one Battalion, consisting of 
26 officers, 4 physicians, and 400 men, divided into 8 com- 
panies. 

The salaries are according to rank, as follows : 



67 

Yearly. 

1 Commandant 1,800 Thalers. 

2 Company-Chiefs, each 800 thalers 1,600 " 

6 do " GOO " 3,G00 

8 First Lieutenants, " 300 " 2,400 

8 Second do \ ^^ .,,^ ,^ 

1 do do (Adjutant),/ "^^ 

Additional for Adjutant, GO " 2,220 " 

1 Chief Physician, 360 " 

3 Assistant Physicians, " 240 " 1,080 " 

8 Orderly Sergeants, " 10 " monthly 960 " 

72 Non-commissioned Officers, " 4 " " 3,456 " 

320 Privates, " 2 J " " 9,600 
Extra pay (gratuity) for the 1st, or Body-Guard Company of 

50 men, 1 thaler per month 600 " 

Extra pay for the 2d, or Grenadier Company of 50 men, h 

thaler per month 300 " 

Extra pay for the 37 oldest Non-commissioned officers, and 

154 oldest Privates, 191 th. 15 s. g. per month 1,146 " 

Extra pay for Non-commissioned officer acting as Battalion 

Secretary 18 •' 

Expenses per Company, annually 18 th. 18 s. g. ; for 8 Com- 
panies 149 *' 

Repairs of arms per Company, 6 th 48 " 

Gratuities for 400 men, each 4 th 1,600 " 

Stationery for Commandant's office 36 " 

" " Companies, each 7^ th 60 " 

Annual appropriation to meet extraordinary contingencies, 1,200 " 

Total annual expenses 19,173 " 

To this must be added for dietary, 1 lb. 12 oz. bread per cap. 

daily — therefore for 400 men 5,200 

For clothing 8 Sergeants, each 7.28, or 63. 15.4 

" " 72 Non-commissioned officers, " 6.10, 456.18 

320 Privates, " 5.28, 1,820.13.... 2,340 16 

Also cost of maintenance of sick, average per cap. 4 th. 4 s. g. 

yearly, for 400 1,657 23 

Th. 28,371 10 

For Quarters, there is counted according to regulations, as fol- 
lows : 
8 Orderly Sergeants, 36 th. yearly— 288. 

72 Non-Commissioned Officers, IG " " 1,152. 
320 Privates, 6 " " 1,920. 3,360 

Whence it follows that the cost of maintaining 400 men ex- 
clusive of quarters, fire and lights, is 28,371 th. 10 s. g., or, on 
an average per head per year of a little over 70 thalers. 

But if we incltrde in the cost of maintaining these 400 men 
the salaries of officers, their roomy quarters and emoluments 
for fuel and lie-hts, as well as the fact that beside the Battalion, 



es 



a number of officers with their families, reside in tliis estab- 
lishment as beneficiaries, having all ajipropriate snrronntlings 
and comforts, as well as extras for attendance, reaching from 60 
to 130 thalers annnally, we shall, of conrse, reach an entirely 
different resnlt from that expressed in the foregoing figures. 



LT. S. MILITARY ASYLUM, OE SOLDIERS' HOME, 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

BY LEWIS H. STEINER, INSPECTOR, II. S. S. C. 

The object of this institution, which was established in ac- 
cordance with an Act of Congress, passed March 3d, 1851, is 
to provide a comfortable home for iniMlid and disaUed soldiers 
of the army, who have served their country faithfully, and 
who shall be entitled to the benefits of the institution. The 
buildings are located on the Riggs Mansion farm, some two 
miles outside the city limits, and consist of three dwellings for 
the officers, the asylum building proper, and a hospital, with 
suitable out-houses. The grounds are handsomely laid out — 
a thick grove of trees near the buildings furnish pleasant re- 
treat from the heat of the sun in summer, while the farm 
proper and the garden afford opportunities for occupying the 
inmates with recreation and profitable labor. 

The Board of Commissioners consists of three officers of the 
army, who are ex-officio members of the same. These are the 
Adjutant-General, the Surgeon-General, and the Connnissary- 
General. The constitution of the Board is objectionable, 
because the members have these duties superadded to those 
belonging to their positions as heads of departments, which 
require all their time and attention. One thing may be said 
in its favor — that such a constitution of \\\q. Board protects it 
from the evil effects of partisan-api)ointments. 



60 



The officers of the as3'hiin are — a governor, deputy-gover- 
nor, secretary, treasurer, and surgeon. Tlie duties of the sec- 
retary and treasurer are equivalent to those of quartermaster 
and commissary in the Held. Dr. Benjamin King, U. S. A., 
holds hoth these offices, and also acts as surgeon. There is 
no governor. Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander, Fifth Infantry, 
is at present the deputy-governor, and in command of the 
post. 

In addition to these officers, there are five non-commisioned 
officers (an orderly-sergeant, two sergeants, and two corporals) 
selected from the inmates, and one hospital steward, enlisted 
in the regular army. 

Soldiers are admitted to the asylum from three classes : 

1. Those who have honestly and faithfully served twenty 
years in the regular arm}'. 

2. All who are enjoying a pension from Government ; hut 
" all pensioners who may desire to avail themselves of the 
advantages of the asylum, are required by law to surrender 
their 'pensions to the institution' during the time they may 
remain therein, and continue to receive its beneiits." 

3. Those who have been disabled in the service. 

Applicants, according to the regulations, are required to 
produce evidence of their service in the army. " They must 
state their age, place of birth, and physical condition ; the 
company, regiment, and corps in which they have served (and 
when practicable, will produce the certificate of an army sur- 
geon, that the applicant is not able to support himself by 
manual labor)." 

Such members of the asylum as have families, and desire to 
live with them, are allowed a pension of eight dollars per 
month, and are permitted to live beyond the limits of the 



70 



asylnni. In case of misconduct, the acting governor has the 
privilege of suspending tlie a]k)Avances granted. Tlie sum of 
eiglit dollars is sometimes made up by an addition to the pen- 
sion drawn from Government. This class of members is known 
as outside-pensioners. 

The Army Regulations — so far as they may be applicable — 
and a special set of regulations adopted by the War Depart- 
ment, constitute the laws for the internal government of the 
asylum. 

There is, however, no roll-call, but the non-commissioned 
officers are expected to see to the presence of the men at the 
proper place, whenever a roll-call would l)e required in the 
army. 

The inmates may be required, " at the discretion of the 
governor, to perform such duties in and about the buildings 
and grounds of the institution as, in his judgment, their age, 
physical condition, and abilities will allow." Such of them, 
however, as are employed on the farm, are entitled to the al- 
lowance of twenty cents per day for the days actually em- 
ployed in the work. Whether employed on this kind of lal)()r 
or not, each inmate is allowed, during good conduct and the 
faithful performance of light duties about the asylum, such as 
may be ordered by the Governor, one dollar per month, as 
pocket money. With this, tobacco, and such luxuries as they 
may require, can be purchased. The orderly sergeant receives 
ten dollars per month, the sergeants eight, and the cor})orals 
seven. Formerly tobacco was supplied, but as some of the 
men were found engaged iji selling it, this had to be stopped 
and pocket-money substituted. There is a place for smoking, 
in the winter, in the upper story of the nuiin building, where 
the fumes are carried away without entei-ing any of the 
apartments. 



71 



As regards clothinp;, tliey are allowed tliis in quantity not 
to exceed tlie allowance to the army in the field. Under no 
circumstances whatever, is it permitted to an inmate to dis- 
pose of his clothing. The regulations require that " there 
shall be established a neat and comfortable uniform (both for 
dress and fatigue), which shall be worn by all inmates of the 
Asylum. All clothing in the possession of the inmates at the 
time of admission, will be delivered to the Steward, Ijy whom 
it will be safely kept and returned to the owner whenever he 
may be discharged from the institution ; and no clothing 
other than the established uniform will be worn by any in- 
mate of the Asylum while he remains therein." Each soldier 
is supplied with a chest for his clotliing and other articles be- 
longing to him, and lias an iron l)edstead, with neat and suit- 
able bedding, in a ward calculated to hold five to eight. 
These M^irds are well ventilated and look exceedingly com- 
fortable. 

Their rations are the same as those of the army ; all sav- 
ings are employed for tlie benefit of the Asylum, and so far 
towards the purchase of articles not allowed in the Govern- 
ment ration. 

" For misconduct (of which drunkenness, fighting, al)usive 
and profane language may be enumerated as the most })romi- 
nent), or for any conduct sul)versive of good order and disci- 
pline, inmates will be subject to punishment by the stoppage 
of their pocket-money and small stores, curtailments of their 
rations, and confinement, or otherwise, at the discretion of 
the governor, or acting-governor, and for a repetition of any 
such offences they may be dismissed." The surgeon con- 
siders that the present regulations, or others more stringent 
still, should be strictly insisted on in order to keep the estab- 
lishment in proper order. Men with nothing to do are restive 



•72 



uikIgi' pruliil)itury laws uud will disregard them. This is true 
of the superannuated as well as the youthfrl. The diU'erence 
between tlieni, on the score of insuljordination, is one of de- 
gree and not of kind. 

Furloughs are given from time to time to members of the 
Asylum, not exceeding a number of days, iixed by the author- 
ities. Should the inmate not return at the expiration of the 
furlough, he is entered on the rolls as a deserter. Desertion, 
or absence without leave, deprives the inmate of the privilege 
of re-admission to the Asylum, unless special admission be ob- 
tained from the executive committee ; this, however, it seems, 
has been comparatively very easy to obtain, and men have 
returned tw^o or three times after their names had been 
stricken from the rolls. As the use of the Asylum has been 
somewhat loose on this subject, wdienever men are dissatisfied 
they quickly determine to leave, believing that they can 
readily regain their old status in the institution. 

At the present time, Sept. 2, 1862, the nundjer of inmates 
is 112; the capacity of the building is said by the authorities to 
be 180, although one can readily see that 250 might possibly be 
accommodated without any great inconvenience. The expenses 
for the Asylum for the year ending July 1, 1862, were $35,022. 
A great increase of the number of inmates would not greatly 
increase the expense of the establishment. Indeed, the only 
items which would be increased would be those ol food and 
clothing. On this account it would be desirable that such an 
establishment as the Asylum should consist of many benefi- 
ciaries and not of few. The increase of expense after the erec- 
tion of proper Iniildings, and the purchase of the grounds, does 
not go owj^ari jxissu with the number of the inmates. It is 
poor economy to have a large number of such Asylums, and 
experience here teaches how readily, when the plan of an in- 



73 



stitution is once fully and completely detennined on, it may 
be indefinitely enlarged Avitliont anything like a proportionate 
exj)enditure. There, is of course, another argument in favor of 
a large establishment over one of less proportions, — the feeling 
that one is an integral portion of a great body, is alwaj^s more 
gratifying and cheering, and is well calculated to prevent the 
despondency and hypochondria too common in all eleemos}^- 
nary establishments. 

As regards the health of '' the old soldier,'' an excellent ac- 
count is furnished h\ Dr. King. Xot more than three per 
cent, of sickness are tbnnd on an average in the hospital. Five 
per cent, represent the total sickness in hospital and quar- 
ters. Phthisis is not unfrequent with the Irish, who die at a 
comparatively early age. The good health prevalent here 
may be attributed to the location of the Asylum, on the high 
ground north of Washington, free from the depressing influ- 
ences of malaria and the impure emanations which hang over 
cities. The fresh, pure air, freedom from care and annoyance, 
and soimd, wholesome food,^these account for the healthy 
glow and the sturdy appearance of the veterans. 

One constant source of trouble in the government of the 
Asylum, is the use of intoxicating drinks to excess. Xo liquor 
is allowed in the institution. The inmates however succeed 
in getting it whenever they leave the grounds, sometimes 
smuggling it within the buildings and getting into trouble in 
consequence. If this source of trouble were removed, the 
discipline of the institution could be carried out with the 
greatest ease. 

In the wa}" of amusements great want is experienced. The 
men play checkers, dominoes. There is no bowling saloon or 
l)illiard table, to attract them from dull brooding. The conse- 
quence is, when they have exhausted their fund of anecdote, 
10 



iind have tired uf heariii^i!; each otlier's accounts of liard fouglit 
battles, unless they are working on the larm, a killing ennui 
seizes them, which gladly finds relief in intoxication or other 
occasional violation of the regulations. The human mind as 
well as the human body must be employed, in order that a 
hai)py condition of health may be attained. The greater the 
variety of which this employment consists, the more perfect 
the result to man. It seems somewhat surprising that amuse- 
ments in the way of experimental " talks" (rather than lec- 
tures) on objects of interest in science and the passing events 
of the day have not been introduced into this institution. 
These would serve to beguile many a weary hour, and afford 
topics for discussion, at small expense to the government. 
Models of improvements in warlike weapons might l)e exhib- 
ited in museums, and charts of l)attles could be hung around 
the walls, serving to keep the soldier supplied with constant 
material for thought and conversation. Again, a good mili- 
tary band is almost indispensable to such an Asylum. The old 
music that had thrilled the soul during his active term of ser- 
vice should still be supplied the soldier for the purpose of 
stirring up old reminiscences and making the blood course 
gaily through his l)lood-vessels. And while the airs that had 
so often cheered him in battle should thus meet his ears, the 
stirring tones of martial music should also be sources of con- 
stant delight and joy. The trophies of his country's victories 
would Und their fitting place of deposit here, and he should 
feel that they were pirt of his own birth right, entrusted to 
his care to guard, from the destructive effects of time and de- 
cay, as far as diligent guardianship would ensure such a re- 
sult. Why suspend such trophies in emi)ty armories, separate 
from the gallant souls whose valor has won them for the coun- 
try '^ Let both the evidence of victory and the worn out war- 



riors be kept in our af^ylnnis, — alike tlie objects of a nation's 
pride and a nation's care. 

But man, however mucli be may enjoy amusement and rec- 
reation, nmst have constant employment, suited to his physical 
strength and congenial to his tastes. The absence of such con- 
stant employment must be looked upon as a prime cause of 
restlessness, dissatisfaction, and acerbity of manners occasion- 
ally found in this Asylum. '' An idle brain is the devil's work- 
shop," and to prevent such idleness a series of light trades 
should l)e introduced. These might be graduated to the age 
and strength of the men. The results of their labors should 
be sold for their Ijeneiit. Tliose who have families could thus 
contriljute to their support, without being necessarily exposed 
to the harrassing fear of want and starvation, which would be 
constantly staring them in the face, were they not witliin the 
protecting walls of such an institution. 

A library, containing from 600 to 800 volumes, is connected 
with the Asylum. The books are generally not well adapted 
to the minds and tastes of the men. A few thousand dollars 
expended in selecting histories, biographies, and such like 
books, would add to the value of this library, and make it 
more attractive. Eleven or twelve newspapers are subscribed 
for by the Asylum, and their contents are greedily devoured by 
those who compare the incidents and conduct of the present 
war with the past, and thus keep up, in their own minds, a 
connection between the past and present. Forty per cent, of 
the inmates write their names, although a large proportion 
really know something practically of penmanship, and can 
read. 

Eeligious services are held every Sunday. A Protestant 
clergjinan is employed for this purpose ; and a Catholic priest 
has been engaged, who conducts the worship of his church 



76 

twice a moiitli. In addition to this, pews are rented for tlic 
nse of the inmates in llock Creek Chnrcli (Protestant E})isco- 
pal), and in a Catholic Clnirch in Washington. 

The Asyhnn derives its snpport principally from Congres- 
sional appropriations, althongh a small amonnt is obtained 
from other sonrces connected with the army. Thns, article 
1333 Hev. Reg., orders that "• The paymaster will dednct from 
the pay of all enlisted men twelve and a-half cents per month 
for the snpport of the Soldiers' Home, and also the amount of 
the authorized stoppages entered on the nnister-roll, descriptive 
list, or certificate of discharge." Forfeitures, on account of 
desertion, are theoretically considered as heing paid over to 
the account of the Home ; but the practical operation of this 
rule is, that nothing virtually is paid over, as sutlers invari- 
ably have claims which absorb all such forfeitures. Arti('le 
1195 Eev. Reg. requires that, " On the first of January, each 
year, one-fourth of every hospital fund, if less than $150, and 
one-half if more, will be dropped by the connnissary from the 
fund (hospital fund), and will be paid over to the treasurer of 
the Soldiers' Home by the Connnissary General." Practically 
this also amounts to nothing, as each hospital surgeon seems 
to take special care that there shall be no hospital fund on 
hand by the first of each January. 

In truth, the appropriations made by Congress constitute 
the means of snpport of the Asylum, and the other sources of 
support are simpl}^ nominal. 

Respectfully sul)mitted, 

(Signed,) Lewis II. Steiner, 

San. In.'^jx'ctm' U. S. S. C. 



77 

MASSACHUSETTS SOLDIERS' FUND. 

Organization of the Massachusetts Soldiers'' Fund. — On the 
27tli of April, 1801, a committee of one hundred prominent 
citizens from various parts of the State met in the Senate 
Cliamher at the State House in Boston, to considef what 
action should be taken in behalf of soldiers and the families of 
soldiers Avho had been, or might be called into service. The 
result of the meeting was an organization of the committee, 
with a President, ten Vice-Presidents, an Executive Committee 
of fifteen, a Secretary and a Treasurer, for officers ; with power 
to manage the interests of the connnittee. 

Object of the Organization. — The object of the organization 
was stated to be " to receive contributions for the benefit of 
soldiers, and the families of soldiers who have been (had been) 
or may be (might be) called into active service, to be held in 
trust as a fund in reserve, to be applied at the discretion" of 
the Executive Committee. This fund was named the " Massa- 
chusetts Soldiers' Fund," and was the first provision made for 
the systematic assistance of soldiers and families of soldiers in 
the State. It was expressly designed to operate as a reserve 
fund, to be used wlien the generous but temporary relief af- 
forded by the contributions of neighbors and friends should fail. 

Management of the Fund. — A subscription was opened and 
proper measures taken for the management of the monies thus 
raised. It was resolved to hold quarterly meetings of the com- 
mittee of one hundred, on the second Wednesday of July, Oc- 
tober, January, and April, in each year. The management 
and disposition of the donations being in the hands of the 
Executive Committee, this committee resolved to hold weekly 
meetings, and has done so, the first meeting having been held 



78 

April 30, 18(51. At these meetings, the special coniniittee on 
applications for relief, submits a written report of the material 
tacts of the cases examined, which, if accepted, is certihed hy 
a meml)er of the committee on finance, and attested by the 
secretary, and this certificate is authority to the treasurer to 
draw his check for the amount appropriated. 

Method of Dl^pem'ing Relief. — It is the practice of the com- 
mittee to give assistance, wherever practicable, in the form of 
a weekly allowance for a given number of weeks, according to 
the necessities of the case, the sum allowed being deposited in 
a saving's bank, as a check upon imprudence, loss, or theft. In 
addition to this systematic relief^ the secretary is empowered 
to grant discretionary aid in cases of innnediate necessity where 
the routine of system would be too slow in relieving suffering. 
An agent is employed to whom application is made and who 
is in attendance at his office, No. 56 Merchants' Exchange, 
every day. 

Title of Claimants. — There is no exact rule laid down as to 
the class of persons entitled to relief from this fund, other than 
that indicated in the purpose of the fund as stated at the or- 
ganization of the committee of one hundred. But Mr. Greene, 
the agent, being also agent of another fund (the Boston Sol- 
diers' Fund),* and administering l)oth trusts in the same office, 
is in the habit of ol)serving a general distinction, l)y wliicli 
this fund is distributed chiefly to the widows of soldiers killed, 
or who have died in service, and their families ; and to 
wounded and disabled soldiers who have been discharged from 
service. 



* See accompanying abstract of the doings of the Massachusetts Soldiers' 
Fund. 



79 



Iicsrdts. — The results of the inauagemeiit of this fund fix)m 
its establishment to July 1, 1863, I have set forth in the ac- 
companying tables, so far as I could obtain them from the va- 
rious statements and reports of the secretary and the treasurer. 
I have recorded whatever facts I could glean, without reference 
altogether to their bearing u]>on this special investigation 
which I have undertaken, but with reference, also, to any other 
questions which may arise upon kindred topics, being con- 
vinced that the most insigniiicant statistics may assist in ob- 
taining valuable inferences. 

There are two or three points in this accomit of the Massa- 
chusetts Soldiers' Fund to which I would ask attention : 

1. Dhproportion of Claims made upon the Fund to the 
number of the Class embraced in its j)rovis^wn.'<. — In reference 
to the number of cases relieved at the end of the first quarter, 
only one case had received assistance — that of a soldier 
wounded in Baltimore on the 19th April. The relief afforded 
consisted in starting him in the way of selling newsi)apers. 
Few applied in the next quarter, and no doubt this was 
owing in part to the expressed intention of the connnittee to 
hold the fund somewhat as a reserve fund. But it was not 
intended to refuse the class embraced in its provisions, and 
the managers of the fund took pains to have this fact jiublicly 
known, and yet, at the close of the first year only eighty-six 
had made application, notwithstanding, as the secretary adds 
in his report, "• great efi:brts were made to increase the know- 
ledge of the society." Again, at the close of the fifth quarter, 
the secretary reports : " We have assisted every one who fur- 
nished evidence of a case within the rules prescribed by the 
founders of the fund ; and though during the last three 
months the numl)er of such persons is nearly as large as in 



80 



the whole of the previous year, the <vp}»lic<itions for rehef have 
been siiiguhirh^ limited. As I said on a former occasion (he 
adds), we have taken unwearied pains to ac(piaint those who 
dispense the various public and private charities of the Com- 
monwealth, of the existence and objects of this organization." 
At the close of the sixth quarter, he notes that " the number 
of applicants is constantly increasing as the existence and ob- 
jects of the fund become known." He complains, again, at 
the close of the seventh quarter, of the scarcity of ap})licants, 
and in the report just made for the (puirter ending July 1, 
18^33, he remarks, '' applications for aid actually diminish, 
though casualties of ^var are constantly increasing." 

Decrease In ivuinljer of applications and hi average amoiuit 
of relief required. — These statements of the secretary are 
borne out by a reference to the facts which I have set down 
in the abstract. It will be observed, too, that the average 
relief afforded to individuals declines in three successive quar- 
ters from $30 Oi to $18 90, and then to $15 20. This can 
hardly be ex})lained on the ground of difference in seasons, 
since the first three months of the year bring, I su];)pose, as 
much suffering as the last three months, and yet there is a 
difference in the average of relief of $11 14 to the individual, 
in favor of the former quarter. ]\Ir. Sal)ine, the secretary, 
draws the inference from the disproportion of the calls upon 
the fund to the present nund)er of sick and wounded soldiers, 
and to the number of soldiers' w^idows in destitute circum- 
stances, that relief from other sources continues to be in a 
good measure at least commensurate with pecuniary needs. 
But however we may account for it, the fact remains that a 
society having at their disposal a large fund, not extremely 
limited in its provisions, nor resting under any bad repute, 



81 



are not able, th()iii>-]i taking great pains to inform the pnl)lic 
mind, to find enongli claimants for tlieir bonnty, while the 
nnnil>er of recipients constantly diminishes, as well as the 
average anionnt of relief required by each. But I shall re- 
turn to this subject hereafter in connexion with other soci- 
eties. 

II. Sijdem of liecord. — The only other point which I 
would notice is, in reference to the system of entry adopted in 
the management of the fund. While each case assisted is re- 
corded somewhat at length, so that from the multitude of 
cases certain statistics of interest may be gathered, as in the 
abstract presented, the system turns upon the purpose kept 
constantly in view of making an accurate account of all the 
money entrusted to the disbursers of the fund. Keeping this 
purpose in mind, we may say that there is a most exact man- 
agement of the fund, and that the system answers its ends. 
And yet one could wish that such valuable facts as this series 
of cases affords, might be more available. The sutfering are 
indeed relieved effectually, but there might be much preven- 
tion of the same suffering in future, if the economy of relief 
could receive suggestions from these several cases, both sepa- 
rately and when combined into classes. 

STATE AID THROUGH CITY AGENCY. 

Legislative Action in Sjyecial Session of 1861. — The tirst 
action taken by the State Legislature for the aid of families of 
volunteers, was in the form of an act approved May 213, 1861, 
granting permission to the cities and towns of the State to 
raise money and apply it for the aid of families of volunteers, 
whicli money tlie State engages to re-imburse to a specified 
extent. Another act, of sul)stantially the same character, l)ut 
11 



82 



moditVing the provisions of the Ibriner, was passed and ap- 
proved March IS, 1862, [chap. C^Q,] ; and it is nnder tlie pro- 
visions of tliis act that the city of Boston grants aid to the 
families of volunteers. 

Amount of Aid afforded in Each Case. — The city regulates 
its grants by the amount which the State guarantees to re- 
turn. This amount is a sum not exceeding one dollar per 
week for each child or parent having a claim under the pro- 
visions of the act. Provided, that the whole sum so reimbursed 
shall not exceed twelve dollars per month for all persons de- 
pendent upon any volunteer — so that a family of twelve is en- 
titled to no more than a family of three. 

Claimants for Aid. — The persons entitled to aid under this 
act are the wives, children, parents, brothers and sisters de- 
pendent upon a citizen volunteer, but as the State does not re- 
imburse money applied for the aid of brothers and sisters, the 
city applies this at its discretion. The applicant for city relief 
must present a certificate from the Adjutant General's Office, 
of the fact of the volunteer upon whom he or she is dependent, 
being in the service. 

Act for the Relief of Families of Deceased and Disahled 
Soldiers. — In addition to this act, another was passed and ap- 
proved March 12, 1863, extending the same aid to persons 
holding the same relation to a deceased or disabled soldier for 
a period of one year from the date of such decease or discharge 
from the army. In no case is this aid granted to the soldier 
himself, but only to persons dependent upon him. These acts, 
and the regulations adopted under them, have l)een published 
on a sheet from the State Auditor's Office. 

Returns under this Act,—1 have examined the returns for 



83 



the several wards of the city of Boston for the year 1S62, and 
have set forth the result in the accompanying table. There 
have as yet been no returns under the act providing for the 
families of deceased or discharged soldiers, nor will there be 
any until the close of the year. The returns for 1861, under 
the iirst act, I have not examined in detail, but there has been 
a steady increase in applications for relief from the beginning, 
though no greater than would iiaturally be ex}3ected. 

BOSTON SOLDIERS' FUND ASSOCIATION. 

Organization and Ohject. — The Boston Soldiers Fund Asso- 
ciation was organized in the fall of 1862, and the wards of the 
city which entered the organization elected two trustees each, 
to carry into effect the purpose of the subscribers to the fund. 
This purpose was stated to be the assistance " of necessitous 
and deserving soldiers and their families, whether enlisted 
trom Boston, or residents of Boston, whenever they may need 
pecuniary aid." The subscription to this fund has been kept 
open, and dislnirsements under it commenced Dec. 11, 1862. 
Each ward in the city, with the exception of wards X, and 
XI., which have distinct organizations, has two trustees and a 
district committee of ten members, while the officers are a 
president, treasurer, secretary, and an executive committee of 
seven. 

3fode of JJistrihution. — The course adopted in distributing 
aid is briefly thus : Upon application being made for assist- 
ance, the case is put in the hands of a member of the district 
committee for the ward in Avhich the applicant resides, who 
inquires into the merits of the case, and reports to the trustees 
of the ward. The trustees in their turn report to the execu- 
tive committee, which, at its weekly meeting, passes upon the 



84 



case, and recommends the amount of relief to 1)0 afforded, 
which is paid in the form of an allowance, and disbursed by 
the general agent, at his office. 

Title of Claimant. — As I before remarked, the agent of the 
Boston Soldiers' Fund is also agent of the Massachusetts Sol- 
diers' Fund, and he is thus enabled to disburse the two funds 
with greater economy, both by guarding against any persons 
'•eceiving aid from the two societies at once, and by making a 
distinction between the classes to be aided, for he also is au- 
thorized to inquire into the merits of the cases presented. I 
do not know that any special disability entitles a soldier or a 
soldier's family to receive aid from this fund ; but, in general, 
we may say that it proposes to step forward with its assistance, 
in all regular or irregular cases of necessity, which other chari- 
table funds fail to reach or to cover. 

Record. — Each case approved by the Executive Committee 
comes to the agent registered on a blank form, and these forms 
are by him kept on file. His cash journal contains the date 
of payment to each applicant, the names registered under the 
separate wards, the sum paid to each. 

From this cash journal, and from the treasurer's report for 
July 7, 1S63, I gather a few facts recorded in the accompany- 
ing tables. 

WAED XL SOLDIERS' RELIEF SOCIETY. 

Thejirst volunteer city niovement. — Two wards are not rep- 
resented in the Boston Soldiers' Fund Association, for the 
reason that they had previously formed separate associations 
for the same object, and were in successful operation. Tlie 
Eleventh Ward was the first to organize, and I will copy an 
account of its operations furnished at my recjuest by the secre- 
tary of the society : 



85 



Organization. — ''Our organization is called Ward Eleven 
Soldiers' Kelief Society. The fund is twenty-live thousand 
dollars, invested in United States securities. July 30, 1862, 
the citizens of the Ward were called together to consult and 
take means to raise three hundred volunteers, as called for l)y 
the President of the United States. A committee of twenty 
were appointed by this meeting to recruit in the Ward, and to 
raise $25,000 for the relief of soldiers and their families, and 
to see to its distribution. This connnittee is sul)-divided into 
ten committees of two each. The full connnittee meet every 
Tuesday evening, and all applications are then considered, and 
referred to the above sub-connnittees, who visit the applicants, 
ascertain their wants, and relieve according to their judgment. 

Title of Claimant. — "Any member of a soldier's family M'ho 
is dependent upon him for support, any wounded soldier re- 
turned or discharged, and the families of those killed in battle 
or dying of disease, have a claim upon the society. 

Dishursemeiits. — " We have disbursed S5,500 to the relief 
as above, including 82,5(.)0 paid in allotments to soldiers' fami- 
lies, they thus having a lixed sum monthly, a part of which we 
hope to and shall receive back again. The number on our 
books amounts to 500. Two-thirds of that number receive aid 
from the fund according to situation and number in the family, 
ages of children, sickness, &c., and some by the above allot- 
ments. Last winter the committee distributed a large amount 
of clothing and shoes, which were kindly donated l)_v the citi- 
zens of the Ward. 

Results. — " I will remark, in addition, that this committee 
took extraordinary pains to become personally acquainted with 
the family of every soldier in service from the Ward, and that 



under their system, it seemed almost impossible that there 
should be any serious privation among the class concerned." 

WARD X. SOLDIERS' RELIEF, FUND. 

Date of Organisation. — The prom})t action of the Eleventh 
Ward was followed by that of Ward Ten. The Ward Ten 
Soldiers' Relief Fund was organized in August, 186:2. The 
amount then and snl)se(piently raised was about $7,000. 

Mode of JJlstrihution. — The fund is in the hands of five 
trustees — -gentlemen resident in the Ward who act as a commit- 
tee of relief. Amongst them the Ward is districted, and each 
has power to relieve applicants in his district. Personal in- 
vestigation is made of each case, and such assistance, and for 
so long a time, is made as shall seem advisable to the commit- 
tee having charge of the case. 

Title of Claimants. — Applicants for aid must have been 
residents of the Ward at the date of the raising of the fund ; 
but if they have since removed to other Wards, they are still 
entitled to aid. The fund is conducted substantially as that 
of the Eleventh Ward, and the system of neighl)orly oversight 
enables the charity to be judiciously administered. I have 
been unable to obtain any facts as to the number assisted or 
the amount of aid granted. 

DISCHARGED SOLDIERS' HOME. 

Organization and Design. — Although not strictly a local 
institution, yet, as being founded and sustained in this city, 
the " Discharged Soldiers' Home" comes within the scope of 
this investigation. It was organized July 4, 1S62, under an 
extensive board of management, embracing one hundred and 
nine individuals, with the design to i)rovide a comfortable 



87 



Home ''for sucli persons who are in need, as have heen honor- 
ably discharged from the army of the United States, l)y reason 
of their sickness or wounds/'' A bnikling has been granted 
them l)y the city government, and the Home lias for some 
time been in operation. 

Title of Ajyjjlicants. — No restriction appears to be exercised 
respecting applicants, other than that of honorable discharge 
and deserving need. The l)nilding does not admit of more 
than one Inindred and twenty inmates at one time, and yet 
has never been full. Their ordinary number, I think, is about 
seventy. 

General FesulU. — In the month of May, 18G3, they re- 
ceived seventy-four and dismissed sixty-iive. One of these 
was sent away because he was cm-ed and well. With this ex- 
ception, sixty-four went voluntarily ; two-thirds of them to go 
to work, one-third to go to friends who had written for them 
and were ready to receive them, in places where there was no 
such charity as this to take them in hand. [These statements 
are from a letter of Rev. E. E. Hale to Mr. Knapp, unpub- 
lished.] 

The cases at the discharged Soldiers' Home may be said to 
be the worst cases of all. It appears, then, that after treatment 
there, two-thirds of the men who had been discharged, as dis- 
abled soldiers, were able to support themselves, and one-third 
were cared for. There is absolutely but one black sheep— 
who was sent away because he was well — left of that month's 
troop to become applicants for general charity (and he asserted 
that he was going to work). Yet the discharges for this 
month amount to sixty-iive seventy-fourths of the number re- 
ceived for the same month. 



I liave set down a few statistics of tlic Discliarg-ed Soldiers"' 
Home in an accompanying table. 

1. — Clasaijication of Cases rdleoed htj tJie llafusav/ttiseiU- 
Soldiers-' Fund, from April, 1861, to July, 1863/ 



'So, «g d-g 'S-^" -g 

■<!» OO t^S <^ H 

Number of cases .assisted 269 209 224 187 83', 

" " " " second time Gl 44 47 G9 

" third '< .... 20 ... 4 

" " " " fourth " .... 8 ... ... 



Total number of cases assisted 358 253 275 20t) 1,087 

Of these number from Boston 248 147 181 149 725 

Of these number from other cities and 

towns 105 lOG 94 57 3G2 

Number of wounded and sick soldiers 
who are now or were in service or on 
furlough GO 35 

At date and families of such ... 17G 

Wounded and disabled soldiers dis- 
charged and families of such 88 ... ... 128 

Widows of soldiers killed or died in ser- 
vice 

Number of children in families assisted. 

Number of soldiers in relation of sons... 

II, — Receipts and Dishursernents Massaehusetti^ Soldiers'' 
Fund. 

RECEIPTS. 

Amount received by subscription April 27, 18G1, to July 1, 18G8*..$GG,.578 83 
Increase of fund by interest, premium on gold and other sources, 11,310 71 



88 


80 


7G 


48 


492 


420 


424 


809 




IG 


23 





Total $77,889 04 



DISBURSEMENTS. 



Amount disbursed in donations April 27, 18G1, to .July 1, ]863t...$25,894 11 

Expenses of management of the fund 1,701 54 

B.alance on hand .July 1, 1863, of which $50,000 is at 4 per cent, 
interest 50,293 39 



Total $77,889 04 

* Of the amount here stated, $60,630 71 was raised within three months, 
and the balance shortly after. 

f Of the amount disbursed, the sum of $1,300 00 is stated to have been 
expended by the secretary with the authority of the committee for the im- 
mediate relief of applicants, whose cases would not admit of tlie usual 
routine of appropriation. 



III. — Average Belief. 



P it il 5! 

->Jm OP '^S <<-i 

Number of cases relieved 353 253 275 206 

Amt disbursed to recipients.. .89,597 50 S7,601 11 So, 199 00 83,132 00 
Average amount of relief to 

each case 27 18 30 04 18 90 15 20 



Permit me to add a few wordr* respecting tlie workinii: and 
result of these various cliarities. 

1. Jlutual UmlerstcuuHng. — It appears that notwithstand- 
ing the existence of several independent organizations, there 
is little interference between them, and little opportunity for 
dishonest applicants to secure help from more than one. The 
State aid, indeed, is given to every applicant who is depen- 
dent upon an absent volunteer, or a discharged disabled sol- 
dier, according to the rules mentioned. But the Boston 
Soldiers' Fund, and Massachusetts Soldiers' Fund, being dis- 
bursed l)v the same agent, are, so far as applicants are con- 
cerned, one Fund ■; and the Tenth Ward and Eleventh Ward 
Fmids are so strictly defined, that they do not interfere with 
the other organizations. If applicants appear for these ward 
charities who do not reside in these wards, they are sent to 
the agent of the Boston Fund ; if applicants appear there who 
reside in either the Tenth or Eleventh Ward, they are sent to 
those associations, so that the whole ground of the city is 
covered, and no organization overlaps another in its district. 

2. General Beisulti^. — Although the statistics which I have 
draM-n up are not very full, yet they indicate, I think, that an 
yet the various funds suffice for the actual needs of soldiers 
and their lamilies ; an indication which is confirmed l»y the 

12 



90 

testimony of the almoners of the funds. I think also that we 
may infer a large amount of self-respect, leading the great ma- 
jority of cases assisted to help themselves when possihle, and, 
in the case of discharged soldiers, a willingness to go to work 
as soon as able to do so. 

3. The Material for a full Statement respect'imj Sold'ten^^ 
Aid. — ^I would draw attention, finally to the abundant mate- 
rial which exists in various offices in this city for a further and 
more complete statement of the tacts in relation to volunteers 
and their families, and discharged disaljled soldiers and their 
families. This material is not at present wholly available, but 
if measures could be taken to collect and arrange it, I am con- 
vinced that it would aftbrd invaluable data for important con- 
clusions. Let me indicate the resources that exist here for in- 
vestigation npon these and kindred topics. 

1. Regiment Bolls. — In the Adjutant Generars Office, at 
the State House, are the rolls of the Massachusetts regiments. 
These rolls contain about 11,000 names of men enlisted from 
Boston. The rolls are drawn up under the following headings: 

1^; p5 <! pi. O S w Pi-^'c! 

The names are entered in no order, except l)y regiments or 
companies of regiments, though I learn from the Adjutant 
General's report, that a duplicate and alphabetical catalogue 
is making. These 11,000 names, then, would be the basis of 
a complete classified catalogue of Boston soldiers — a catalogue 
which could be made to embrace all the important facts in 
each case, bearing upon the questions involved in the economy 
of the war, 



91 



2. Returns of City Relief. — In the Auditor's Office, at the 
State House, are the yearly returns from Boston, by wards, of 
the aid granted to families of volunteers enlisted from Boston. 
These returns are alphabetical, and recorded under the follow- 
ing headings : 



n I I- 

=K =" .2 3* bS ^^ 



IS ° 



>-3 cj C» 



3. Boaton Soldiers' Fand.—^xQi'y case assisted by the Bos- 
tun Soldiers' Fund Association is recorded upon a blank form 
and filed for reference. These forms embrace the following 
heads : 



Ward, name, age, married, residence, enlisted, occupation. 
Do you receive aid from town. State of Massachusetts, City 
of Boston, Overseer of Poor, any other source. 

DEPEXDEXT, 

Name, age, relation, residence, children, names and ages. 

4. Ifassachusetts Soldiers^ Fund. — A descriptive account of 
every case assisted by the Massachusetts Soldiers' Fund is re- 
corded in their books with alphabetical reference. These are 
the principal records, but the ward funds could also, no doul)t, 
furnish similar statements respecting all who have received 
assistance from them, A collation of these records would be 
of the o-reatest value. 



92 
STATE All) TllEOUGll CTTY AGENCY. 

(kELIEF COIMMITTEE.) 

Aiuouut of Average of 
assistanre yearly aiil 
No. of fhiring tho to each fa- 
Cases*, year. uiily. 

Ward 1 383 $26,184 00 $68 36 

11 345 19,563 00 56 70 

III 356 22,827 00 64 12 

IV 91 5,107 00 56 12 

V 274 17,065 00 62 28 

VI 185 11,271 00 60 92 

VII 319 22,293 00 69 91 

" VllI 281 18,083 00 64 35 

IX 214 14,790 00 69 11 

X 365 22,407 00 61 38 

XI 530 82,140 00 60 64 

XII 605 43,234 00 69 80 

Whole number of families, or parts of families aided in Boston.. 3,948 

Total amount of aid $254,964 00 

Average to each claim 64 58 

BOSTON SOLDIERS' FFiXD ASSOCIATION. 





From De- 
cern" rlS62, 
to April 3, 
1863, inc. 


FromApril 
9, to May 
21, inclu- 
sive. 


From May 
28, to .Tune 
25, 1863. 


11, 1862, to 

.Tunc 25th, 

1863. 


Amount disbursed 

No. of cases assisted... 
Average Aid 


...$5,235 12 
... 547 

... $9 57 


$1,482 00 

167 

$8 87 


$836 00 
66 

$12 66 


$7,553 12 

780 

$9 55 



KECEII'TS. 

Amount received from subscriptions $64,878 76 

By increase in value of gold, interest, etc 1,395 07 

Total $ti6,273 83 

inSBI'RSEMENT.s. 

Amount disbursed $7,553 12 

On loan at 5 per cent 11,000 00 

On loan at 4 per cent 45,000 00 

Expenses 341 50 

Balance 2,379 21 

Total S66.273 83 

Number enlisted from Boston, 11,000. 
Number of families assisted by city. ..3,948, at average uf $64 58 each. 
Number of families in Eleventh Ward assisted by city. ..530, at $60 64 each. 
Assisted in addition, by Eleventh Ward Committee. ..500. 



93 

Boston Discharged Soldiers' Home. 

Total niiinber received, July, 1S62, to Au<:;iist, 1863, inclu- 
sive D87 

May, 1863. 

Number of inmates at begiimiiiij; of niontli T-t 

Admitted durins; month 74 

— 148 
Discharged 6Q 

Leaving 82 

Of whom 13 were conlined to their beds. 

June, 18G3. 

Number of inmates at beginning of month 82 

Admitted during month (o() 

— 148 
Of this uuml^er under surgical treatment 25 

Enlisted in Invalid Corps 5 

Died 3 

Returned to friends lU 

Left, have found employment 39 

Dishonorably discliarged (for intemperance) 9 

— (36 

82 
July, 1863. 

Number of inmates at beginning of month 82 

Admitted during month 55 

— 137 
Died 1 

Returned to friends 29 

Left, having found employment - 20 

Dishonorably discharged (for intemperance) 5 

— 55 

82 



94 



For iiioiitbs of May, June, and July, 18(33, the average 
nunil)er daily provided for was 82, at a per cajjita expense of 
56 cents. 

August, 1863. 

Number of inmates at beginning of month 82 

Admitted during month 76 

— 158 
Died 9 

Enlisted 1 

Returned to friends 39 

Left, having found employment 27 

Dishonorably discharged 8 

— 84 

74 

Average daily attendance, 80 ; at an average expense of 
67i cents each. 

Add to this (what was included in estimate for preceding 
three months) salaries of superintendent and matron, amount- 
ing to $1,000 per annum, and we have for average expense of 
each individual through August, about 71 cents per diem. 

In computing the cost, everything is included, but the rent 
of, the building is free ; and it must be added that the aid of 
friends has largely reduced the cost of clothing. No expense 
falls upon the soldier, who is fed, clothed, and housed, and pro- 
vided with medical attendance. The accommodations are 
nominally limited to one hundred, Init as many as one hun- 
dred and lifteen, and one hundred and twenty have, at times, 
l)een provided for. 

Jno. S. Blatcuford. 



95 

PROPOSITION FOURTH. 

Could not the PulAlc Lands enahlc as to form Invalid B<d- 
talums, or Districts of Military Agricidturists throughout 
the Great West? In the event of a Monarchy heing 2?€rma- 
nently re-estahlished in Mexico, woidd it he advisable to 
organize a Military frontier ? 

The imnieiise extent of our still niireclaiiiied territory in the 
West, and the importance of bringing it nnder occupation for 
the pui-pose of building military roads and highways of com- 
munication between the eastern and western slopes of the 
continent, presents us with a very large field for inquiry into 
the best means of carrying into effect some plan of colonization 
in that quarter. Certainly, so far as physical adaptation of 
colonists is concerned, we might reasonably expect that soldiers, 
especially American soldiers, would constitute the very best of 
pioneers. With a practical experience of life in the field, and 
the endurance acquired by active exercise, they cannot fail 
to prove themselves equal to any emergencies or hardships ; 
and, with the additional quality of intelligence possessed by 
them, they may be relied upon to lay the foundation of future 
States in a permanent and trustworthy manner. Americans 
are, by nature, adventurous, loving a life of novelty, experi- 
ments and exploits. Hence they can ahvays be depended 
upon, not only to occupy a country, but also to improve 
and develop its resources. Our militarj' agriculturists, in 
contra-distinction from those of Russia, Austria, or France, 
would prove themselves something more than mere tillers of 
the soil. They would colonize with reference to creating new 
States — would pave the way, by their industry and intelligent 
foresight, for the subsequent influx of artizans and merchants, 
and liditino' their t(»rclies at the altar of Hestia, would l^ear 



with tliciii into the wilderness tlie laws, religion, cnstonis and 
traditions of their native land. Snch has been the general 
rnle observed in the fonndation of our new States, and such it 
would l)e desirable to keep it, in order to insure perpetuity of 
republican institutions upon this continent. 

Unfortunately for these suggestions, schemes of military 
colonization have not always been undertaken in a connnercial 
point of view. Founded upon other necessities than those of 
peace, they have everywdiere retained an exclusively military 
character, tending rather to paralyze than to foster the devel- 
opment of connnercial arts. It is true that, in modern times 
at least, military colonies have been attempted almost solely 
by nations in which the military element greatly predominated 
over the civil, and whose form of government recognized as a 
cardinal maxim the subordination of the latter to the former, 
A brief sketch of their history in Europe will suffice to illustrate 
this assertion, while, at the same time, it should serve to ad- 
monish us that, because they have not there done all which Avas 
expected of them, it does not follow that they would fail here 
to the same extent. We are an essentially different people in 
character and habits of conduct. Aside from a larger versatility 
of talents, and a readier power of co-ordinating means to ends, 
the elastic temper of our institutions permits, if it does not 
even invite, undertakings of a magnitude and complication 
which it would be unsafe to connnit to less intelligent masses, 
or such as did not respect the elements of individuality and 
municipal freedom. Under such lavoring circumstances, we 
are little amenable to the causes operating upon populations 
like those constituthig Russian or Austrian colonies ; for the 
spontaneity of action wdiich everywhere distinguishes the 
American mind, authorizes us to indulge expectations founded, 
in ])art, on experience, of a character the most satisfactory 



97 



in relation to the progress and ultimate snecess of such colo- 
nies. While ore would be dug, mines opened, streams bridged, 
Avater-privileges secured, grist and saw mills erected M-ithin a 
few weeks after an American colony had planted itself upon 
any soil, the sterile banks of the Dauul)e, and the almost pa- 
triarchal husbandry of the Banat, are a perpetual monument 
of the non-progressive character of the Sclavic races. 

EUROPEAN MILITAEY COLONIES. 

Frederick II. asserts that the tirst idea of military colonies 
in Europe originated with the Czar Peter the Great. The 
object in view was to organize a species of mobilized militia, 
which could, whenever called upon, furnish a contingent to 
the regular army. The scheme was a bold one in its incep- 
tion, and not without justification statistically, for, between 
St. Petersl)urg, Moscow, Kasan, and the Ukraine, there was 
scattered a population of full twelve niillions of men, from 
among whom very valual)le auxiliary and irregular troops 
could be obtained. This plan of Peter, although not com- 
pleted in his lifetime, has been systematically followed and 
improved upon by his successors. As early as 1711 he had 
formed Cossack colonies in the trans-Caucasus, and along the 
Kouban and Terek rivers, but it was only with the reign of 
Anne, that anything like an organization and a relation to 
the army proper was given to these colonists. They were 
chiefly intended to guard the frontier against those invasions 
of Turks and Tartars, which were a hereditary terror to the 
nations of Europe, up to the time when the prestige of Saracen 
invincibility was destroyed under the walls of Belgrade. 

Beginning in 1727, with one regiment of hussars, in the 
Ukraine, the Servian colonists were soon enrolled for that pur- 
13 



98 



pose tlircmglioiit the district. ( )thcr lines of colonies were simi- 
larly formed along the hanks of the Dniester and Dnieper, so 
that, in general, all the Cossack armies destined for the pro- 
tection of the frontier, can he considered as military colonists. 
Tliis colonization of Cossacks was continned nnder Catharine 
II., by an Ukase of Jnly 1, 1742, and they were re-organized 
like those of the Don, nnder the denomination of Cossacks of 
the Black Sea. These Cossacks form a population of 60,000 
males, and furnish to the army one division of Cossacks of the 
Guard, twelve regiments of cavalry, nine l)attalions of infan- 
try, and three batteries of horse artillery. 

But military colonies, as they actually exist in Russia, do not 
reach back farther than the year 1810, and the principal ob- 
jects sought for in their establishment were the following, viz : 

1st. To facilitate recruiting. 

2d. To maintain the army as cheaply as possil)le in time of 
peace. 

3d. To foster agriculture, l)y not withdrawing from it so 
many men, who, instead of being absorbed in the military ser- 
vice, could add their own labor to the productive industry of 
the country. 

4th. To people large and waste districts. 

5th. To insure the soldier a home ami independence at the 
expiration of his term of service. (Colonists only serve twenty 
years ; the Guard twenty-two ; all others twenty-five years.) 

The Russian colonies now or lately in existence consist of 
those of the Ukraine, in the government of Kharkow, with 
eight districts ; those of Southern Russia, in the government 
of Khersow, with tweh'e districts ; those of the government of 
Kiew and Podolia, with five districts and two sul)- districts. 
These colonies furnish a contingent of thirty-five regiments of 
cavalry, nine of infantry, and three l)attalions with fourteen 



99 



batteries ; thus funning two hundred and forty-two S(|uadrons 
of cavahy, and thirty battalions of infantry, with artillery, 
aniouiitiug in all to 82,260 men. 

AUSTRIAN MILITARY COLONIES. 

The Austrian military colonists in the Banat, aside from 
the protection to the frontier which they are designed to af- 
ford, are also connected with the customs, and perhaps on this 
account more than all others have been retained for the addi' 
tional purpose of enforcing a most rigid system of cjuarantine 
along the whole Turkish border. They form a true cordon 
mnitaire throughout the Illyrian provinces, against the impor- 
tation of the plague, and were once even so employed against 
the cholera. However this may be, every soldier in the Banat 
spends ninety days a year on duty, as a sanitary picket (seven 
days at a time). The usual num1;)er kept on watch on the 
Danube and Save is six thousand, which is increased on emer- 
gencies to double that numljer. These frontier soldiers — 
or milites limit arte k as they might with great propriety be 
called — amount in all to sixty thousand. The Austrian mili- 
tary colonies, as a class, seem better to fulfil the idea of agri- 
cultural soldiers than those of Russia ; for, not only are they 
self-supporting, but they even pay into the jDublic treasury 
over a million florins annually. This speaks well, not alone 
for their industry, but more still for the system of government, 
almost patriarchal, which administers their affairs with so 
frugal a hand. 

From these lessons of European experience, Ave may infer 
that systems of military colonization, when properly con- 
ducted, are not of impracticable execution, nor entirely void 
of tinancial results. If, with the indifferent roads and obsta- 



100 



cles to easy transportation wliicli prevail in tlie Anstrian 
Banat, the colonists can become, not simply self-supporting, 
l)ut able to pay an annual contribution into tlie treasury of the 
nation from their agricultural gains, how much easier would 
it not be for American colonists, settled along the line of uur 
southern and western frontier, to do as much, if not better 
than this ? The exuberant fertility of our soil, and the richer 
staples like cotton, sugar, tobacco and hemp which it produces 
in those latitudes, renders it certain that the smallest applica- 
tion of industry to the cultivation of land would yield abun- 
dant and lucrative harvests. Throughout the broad steppes, 
or basins of our western territories — on the banks of most of 
the tributaries of the Mississippi — and in the vicinity of the 
already surveyed routes of the Pacific railroad, are districts 
of country fertile in all natural resources, and which would 
afford most excellent fields for colonization. The immediate 
consequence of settlement would be to increase the value of 
all surrounding lands; and the Government, l)y judiciously 
retaining certain portions immediately adjoining its colonies, 
would be able to fully reimburse itself for those sections given 
away. From having originally been established as military 
colonies on the frontier, these settlements would soon assume 
the character of large villages, towns and commercial en- 
trepots, and, in the course of another generation, everything of 
a purely military character would have passed awaj. In fact, 
the history of most of our western settlements has been that of 
semi-military colonies. They were all as much founded with 
the rifle as with the axe, and owed their permission to grow, 
during the ])erils of their infancy, more to the prowess of their 
inhabitants than to the mechanical or agricultural abilities 
possessed by them. Yet all these settlements have flourished 
and ultimately become large towns and cities, deriving, mean- 



101 



while, no direct assii^tance or support from the General Gov- 
ernment ; and except here and there, where an old block-honse 
still remains to remind us of the dangers to which the early 
settlers were exposed, nothing would indicate the originally 
military character of the settlement, or the liability of its early 
inhabitants to sudden attacks from without. 

CONDITION OF AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

The recent establishment of a monarchy in Mexico, is an 
event which should awaken serious attenti()n to the dangers 
thereby threatening free institutions on this continent. That 
this should be permitted without a protest, and even something 
more, from the United States, is not to be supposed possiljle. 
Every consideration due to the principles of free government 
for which we have so long and unflinchingly l)attled, requires 
that a most earnest and speedy effort should l)e made to check 
the growth of any form of government which is not in entire 
harmony and political sympathy with our own. The conti- 
nent of North America seems by Divine appointment destined 
to be the theatre upon which the experiment of self-govern- 
ment is to be fully worked out. Republican institutions have 
been so well and successfully tried in the United States, and 
conterminous nations, and now absorb so large a portion of the 
whole continent, that it is incumbent on us, as tlieir leadino- 
representative, to see that no foreign power interferes with 
them. AVe stand, in tact, pledged before the world as the 
champions of free government, and nnist make good the ex- 
pectations entertained of our abihty to vindicate this fair title. 
Not to do so now, and after shedding so nmcli blood in the 
cause of civil lilierty, is to descend to a degree of inisillanimity 
unworthy of those who have so long stood as the acknowledged 
defenders of a new political dispensation. On this point, at 



102 

IcMst, there is such an entire unanimity of sentiment throUii;h- 
uut the country as not to require any argument by whicli to 
enforce it. The American people can not consent to any di- 
vision of the continent l)etween political systems so radically 
antagonistic as monarchy and republicanism. The two, it 
has been immemorially demonstrated, can not tlourish in 
proximity. Caste-i)rivilege and prerogative on the one hand, 
and popular rights and representative government on the 
other, are innniscible elements, particularly on this continent. 
The former have been tried, fully tried and endured, both 
anunig us and in Mexico; and having been condemned by 
popular sentiment expressing itself through successful revo- 
lutions, organized by Christian patriots, the experiment nuist 
not again be permitted. The principle of the balance of power 
recognized l)y European nations at the treaty of Westphalia, 
in 1648, l)y which a system of checks and balances upon 
changes in the estabhshed forms of governments was author- 
ized, should be enforced by us against all attempts to re-estal)- 
lish monarchy on this continent. 

It is, perhaps, hardly time yet to speak of Mexico as returned 
to a permanent form of monarchical government. Political 
events are of too transitional a character in that country, to 
make us willing to believe in the ])ermanency of this new 
thraldom, forced upon her by French l)ayonets. As soon as 
the popular mind can make itself heard, and force its way to 
an active interference in the affairs of the nation, the invading 
and disrupting element now sitting like an incubus upon the 
hearts of the people, w^ill be deposed from its usurped seat, 
and Repxdjlieanism rising into rightful ])Ower, will re-assume 
the reins of government. Meanwhile, the rpicstion arises 
whether we shouhl wait for this ])Ossible turn of events, or 
whether, acting upon the dictates of prudence and policy, we 



103 



should not adopt measures calculated to put an impassable 
barrier between us, and tlie farther encroachments of foreign 
governments. Kemendjering always that it is France, and 
not Mexico, which now menaces the integrity of republican 
institutions on this continent, we shall know all the better 
liow to act in the premises. A military frontier would not 
only prevent encroachments upon our soil, but give to the 
Mexican people a rallying point or back-ground of support, 
from which to begin anew the struggle for political aud reli- 
gious freedom. 

In order, therefore, to invite colonization on the frontier, the 
Government should l)estow some additional advantages upon 
actual settlers, and hold out increased inducements to veteran 
soldiers to emigrate to this region. As their military qualifi- 
cations w^ould render them the most useful of colonists there, 
so every effort should be made to induce as many as possible 
to join in the undertaking. But, were bounty lands along the 
border to be sul)jected to the same rules of possession and oc- 
cupancy as similar lands elsewhere, there would Ije danger 
that, in particular portions of this district, by reason of cli- 
mate, topography, and character of sctil, no emigrants would 
be found willing to occupy them. This was the case with sev- 
eral of the Ilonian colonies, planted in distant and inaccessiljle 
regions, and for which few ^•oluntary emigrants presented 
themselves. We have it in our power to remedy this possible 
evil by a wise and generous legislation — sacriUcing present and 
established usage for future and increased advantages. Some 
plan might be devised by which the amount of the bounty-land 
could be increased per capita wherever six or more married 
men would actually settle in a group about some military post. 
The fee absolute of these surplus lands might be made condi- 
tional upon a five year's occupancy, during wliicli time the oc- 



104 



ciipaiit inii2;lit l)u relieved from all excise and income tax. A 
local militia should then be organized among these emigrants, 
and systems of drill and cam}) instruction nuiintained, in order 
to preserve and per})etuate a proper military spirit. All males 
between IS and 55, having the necessary pliysical capacity, 
should be enrolled in this organization. It should form a true 
Sedentary corps, ne^'er leaving its own locality, and acting 
purely on the defensive. 

The next and most important want is, that means of com- 
munication by ],)ost-roads should Ije provided by Government 
as early as practicable, l)oth for the convenience of the local 
population, as well as for the transportation of troops in cases 
of necessity. In fact, the time has come when military roads 
should be constructed all along our frontiers, and wherever 
there is a possibility of invasion. But particularly so in the 
south-west, because that, beyond all others, seems the cpiarter 
from which we are now, and may continue to be menaced. A 
military frontier has become, therefore, almost a necessity. We 
have the proper men with which to organize it — men com- 
bining experience with indomitable energy — thinking heads 
M'ith working hands ; and it will, consequently, be our own 
fault if we do not turn these advantages to the strengthening 
and development of our national grandeur. Along the whole 
line of our south-western frontier we could easily establish 
military posts, the garrisons of which could be furnished by 
the local militia. Efficiency and economy would thus l)e se- 
cured. Men having a home near by would i)erform their du- 
ties with nujre alacrity and devotion than if strangers and 
merely commorant in that locality. They would be interested 
in plans looking to the good of posterity, knowing that their 
own would share in whatever benetits were likely to accrue 
from a due cm])loynient of their ])resent opi)ortunities. In- 



105 

stead of being mere garrison soldiers with notliing to do^ 
when off' duty they woukl be stimulated to labor in their own 
fields and for their own gain, by the reflection that great and 
lasting advantages were within their reach ; that they were 
objects of special regard to the nation, and were honored by 
her with the mission of keeping watch and ward at the gate- 
ways of her territory. With sncli incentives to industry and 
good conduct as these, American military colonists could not 
fail to exhibit to the world a spectacle of successful enterprise 
beyond that of any similar character in either ancient or mod- 
ern times. 

PROPOSITION FIFTH. 

In the cmistriictio7i and service of the Pacific Railroad., what 
parts could there he assigQied to invalid soldiers^ e. g., over- 
seers, switchmen, fiagmen, telegraph operator's, station and 
freight agents, clerks, conductors, engiiieers, firemen, etc., 
etc. f 

As the greatest of all public works yet undertaken by the 
nation — the construction of the Pacific Railroad presents us 
with one of the best possiljle opportunities of giving employ- 
ment to a large class of disabled soldiers. The length of time 
which will be recpiired to build it, and the immense numljer 
of employees necessary to discharge the various duties of so 
extensive an undertaking, point to this as a source of very just 
and profitable occupation for invalids. It is not to be as- 
sumed l^y this, however, that they could perform such heavy 
or laborious duties as necessitate a full enjoyment of all our 
physical powers ; but there are numerous occupations con- 
nected with the administration of the road, and involving 
more of intelligence than manual strength, which tliey nn'glit 
M 



100 



easily and successfully undertake. These occupations, a few 
of wliicli are enumerated above, are all witliin the capacity of 
the generality of invalids, and the salaries which can be paid 
them in such places could not fail to secure the services of all 
that would be needed. 

But, pending the construction of the road it would certainly 
be desirable, at the outset, to bring the region through vvdiich 
it is to pass under some degree of settlement and cultivation. 
It should, at the very least, be nuide to feed those who are 
about living there. The laborers on the great work itself will 
be w^anted for purposes exclusively connected with it. They 
cannot, at the same time, l)e agriculturists, and in that sense 
Avill be consumers alone of the products of the soil, and not 
producers. Food of all kinds, in consequence, will have to be 
imported, and the enormous cost of transportation, most of it 
being by land-carriage, will raise the price of provisions to a 
rate beyond the economical reach of the laborer; thus de- 
terring him from going there by the bitter prospects of con- 
suming all his daily gains in the sup^^ort of his family. 
Every motive of economy and concern for the future will, 
therefore, lead him to remain in the more thickly settled 
regions of the East, and his services will be lost to those who 
most need them. In order to obviate this, the Government 
should, at an early day, make provision for opening the Pacific 
Railroad district, and rendering it self-supporting. Settlers 
must be hiduced to go out and reclaim the wilderness by the 
oiler of peculiar advantages. I^atural resources of every kind 
must be improved, and communities planted for the purpose 
of opening markets and furnishing products to non-producing 
inhabitants. Food will thus be made to keep pace with popu- 
lation, and ordinary day-laborers being assured that they may, 
by the competition of open markets, not only be enabled to 



107 



]i\-e within their income, but even to lay up iiomething against 
the coming of old age, will be induced to go out into this new 
country with the ultimate hope of becoming freeholders. 

In ordinary times the settlement and improyement of this 
railroad region might be left to the natural course of eyents. 
Adyenturers can always be found among us, for the pioneer- 
ing spirit is, in a great measure, indigenous ; but we want 
men more conseryatiye in character than are trappers and 
hunters. AVe want men who will establish themselyes and 
remain during their lives occupants of this virgin soil ; we 
want colonists who intend to found states and become the 
fathers of civilization in those regions. Thej should be able 
to appreciate the privileges attaching themselves to their pe- 
culiar form of colonization and the advantages secured to 
them, at the yery start, from Goyernment assistance and 
patronage. In what way this assistance can be meted out 
most justly, will l)e discussed in the next proposition. 

PROPOSITIOX SIXTH. 

Are invalid villages practicaUe, where the results of accumu- 
lated and comMned lahor shall le anmially distrihuied 
among the families cmistituting them, according to the 
amount of v:orl: perforraed hj their mcmljers. 

The results of associated labor on a large scale, and as prac- 
tised by man}' communities in this country, lead to the infer- 
ence that the system is not in itself an impracticable one, nor 
has it generally been an unsuccessful one, wherever a proper 
spirit of harmony obtained among members, and a just gov- 
ernment administered their affairs. The two conditions, there- 
fore, ycliich may ever be considered necessary, if not indisj^en- 
sable to success, are entire unanimity on the part of members. 



108 



and competent leaders to guide and develop the resources of 
tlie community. It is true, doubtless, that such associations 
have usually sprung from religious enthusiasm, tending, in a 
degree at least, to wear the outward appearance of fanaticism, 
and in consequence have been popularly considered as its off- 
spring ; still, there can be no question that material incentives 
have influenced their creation full as much as spiritual motives. 
Lands farmed by these communities have risen in value ; their 
products have both sought and found ready markets, and com- 
mercial gains have flowed into their treasuries, not undesired 
nor undervalued. The true incentives to increased activity 
have been found, not so much in the greater amount of re- 
ligious liberty en]'oyed (since no man in our country is debarred 
this boon), but in the actual profits derived from associated 
and voluntary labor on a large scale. This result is the key to 
the problem. Communities of this kind are feasible in every 
sense of the term, and, better still, they may be made highly 
prosperous, for none pretend to deny that they do much more 
than merely support their members. In fact, a large commu- 
nal fund is annually acquired from the labor of the whole, 
and it only remains to divide and distribute this, pro rata, in 
order to make the relations of members to each other one of 
entire satisfaction. According as they work should they be 
rewarded ; and according as they derive profit from the asso- 
ciation, will their ciForts to increase its aggregate productive- 
ness be augmented, Eewards are the proper stimuli to in- 
dustry in human society, and consequently the larger they are, 
the greater will be the efforts made to olitain them. 

It seems to be conceded that small associations for the pur- 
poses of combined labor, without wages, eo nomine, but where 
all have some share in the profits, generally prove more suc- 
cessful than large ones, on many accounts. In the first 



109 



place, because of tlieir inferior size they are susceptible of 
more simple, and consequently of easier mana<;ement. The 
family or patriarchal tj])e of government still prevails in a 
certain measure — a form in which there is more sympathy 
and a greater mutuality of interest between leaders and laity, 
because born of better accpiaintance and confidence. The af- 
fairs of small communities as compared with large ones are 
notoriously managed with more honesty and discretion. The 
fact is patent without argument, and its reason flows from the 
operation of those laws of social organization which render 
unity of interest dependent upon concentration of interest. 
As a consequence, the more that interest is dispersed, and the 
field of activity extended, the less is the individual sympathy 
among members. Again, and with greater significance for us, 
small commimities -will necessarily be less expensive in the 
light of experiments than large ones; and, Mdiile risks of 
failure, involving heavy expenditures, might deter a Govern- 
ment from undertaking a large and multiform effort, which, 
although known to be politic, might yet require several years, 
and possibly renewed experiments to prove itself so, the same 
objection would not obtain against small and inex-pensive un- 
dertakings designed to pave the way for greater and lasting 
enterprises. These considerations point clearly to the necessity 
of beginning invalid villages on a small scale, a justification 
for which will be found in the experience of Shakers, who 
divide themselves into what are termed familiej^', or, more truly, 
aggregations of individuals amounting to a few scores, who 
labor and live together, although still recognized as members 
of the general community. The family, so called, l)ears the 
same relation to the community at large, that the States do to 
the General Government. It l)otli governs itself, and is, in 
turn, governed by the whole. We cite these facts merely by 



no 

way of analogy and illustration, not intondiiii;- them as models 
for imitation. They undyuhtedly hear upon the question of 
the feasibility of such connnunities, and in that light are wor- 
thy of consideration. Beyond this they need not detain us to 
examine them. 

Starting, therefoi-e, with the conclusion that the experiment 
of invalid villages should he made on a small scale, the num- 
ber of inhabitants in any one should not, it seems to us, ex- 
ceed two hundred adults of both sexes. Land should be ap- 
portioned to them according to the nature of the industry 
about to be pursued, l)earing in mind, also, that in distinction 
from military agriculturists, they are to practise chiefly vari- 
ous forms of artizanship. Their land should sup})ort them by 
supplying food and clothing ; M'hile their manual occupations, 
taking tlie lead of all other things, should enable them in time 
to accumulate some little gains. By the assistance of ma- 
chinery, men highly disabled might still be made capable of 
earning more than a living, and in this way almost every 
grade of disability would find some sphere of usefulness in 
which to exercise itself. It is computed by those competent 
to judge in such matters, that invalids occupied in any ordi- 
nary labor can easily earn two dollars per week, while, by the 
assistance of machinery, this amount can be increased to three 
and possibly four dollars. Estimating the cost of supporting 
an adult, in such a society, at two dollars a week, it seems 
evident that under ordinary circumstances each man can gen- 
erally support himself. The plus labor perfonned by his chil- 
dren, over the cost of their maintenance, would then go 
toward tlie tamily in the form of divided gains ; and thus the 
inability to labor of a parent might be doubly compensated for 
by the excess labor of his children. It will be readily inferred 
from this, that unnuirried invalids should not be adnntted 



112 



among tlic population of these villages, unless tliev eliance to 
be tlie sons of invalids. Where father and son are both 
invalids, it would be wrong to separate them. But, in gene- 
ral, unmarried men are not wanted there. Their place, 
already commented upon in a preceding proposition, is in 
asylums, where they can find employment with some wages 
attached to it. In invalid villages, the faiiiihj should form 
the predominant type of society, and everything there sliould 
conspire to render it self-supporting and accpiisitive. 

Wherever the character of the country admits of it, dairy 
farms should be created of preference, because of the part 
which women can take in their management ; and the amount 
of land to be apportioned to the inhabitants of a village 
sliould therefore depend very much upon the nature of the 
agricultural employment whence their support is, primarily, 
to be derived. Three acres per head for tillage land, and ten 
for dairj' or stock-raising j)nrposes, seems about enough. 
More than this would only encumber families and take them 
from the lield of artizanshi}). Large farms, combined with 
immethodical culture, have done more to discourage agricul- 
ture as a profession than all other causes. What is wanted 
chiefly is, a husbanding of resources, hy employing them upon 
a narrower field, which in turn, and as all experience proves, 
becomes a more productive one. 

The locality of these villages sliould, at the outset, be selected 
with particular reference to proximity to markets, where their 
own manulacturcs could be disposed of; and of equal import- 
ance, also, is it, that water privileges should be united to their 
other advantages, so that in time machinery might be added 
to the productive power of the community. At first, and while 
the experiment of establishing the village was in operation, 
manual labor alone should l)e tested, and according as invalids 



112 



exhibited a willingness to exert themselves, and an ahility to 
become usefnl artizans, shunld the Go\'ernment proceed to 
assist them by machinerj. It would be an unwarrantable 
expenditure to begin by establishing factories, before knowing 
whether the conmiunity in which they were located had the 
ability to turn them to a good account. Taste, original habits, 
and topographical circumstances, would unquestional)ly point 
out the particular branches of art which these villages would 
adopt. There are preferences in such nuitters which it is useless 
to philosophize about, for the simple reason that they are inex- 
plicable. Hence, wherever they exist, they should be respected 
and developed. In some villages arts will be pursued which 
require no artiiicial assistance. In others there will be such 
as cannot act without it. On the particular circumstances of 
each case will depend the line of conduct to be pursued by the 
government. Thus, if a majority of the inhabitants of a vil- 
lage had previt)usly followed some special trade, as shoemaking 
or broom-making, they should be encouraged to resume it, on 
the principle that, whatever men lia^'e a familiarity with, and 
experience in, they must necessarily be able to do l)etter than 
any thing else. For, in all occupations, whether of the head 
or hands, drill is everything, and the cheapest workman to 
employ is always a master in any art. Invalids should l)e al- 
lowed, therefore, some choice in this matter, for we may rest 
assured it will be one founded both in reason and upon expe- 
rience. Let them first satisfy the country wliich extends so 
much help towards them that are zealous to improve it, and 
they will connnand still more. 

ORGANIZATION OF INVALID VILLAGES. 

In order to incite invalids to join in undertakings of this 
sort, advantages of a particular kind should be bostoM'ed u]>on 



113 

tliein, and tliej should be made to feel that in providing tor 
them in this way, the country designs it as a means for aiding 
their families as well as themselves. Such an intention, thus 
plainly revealed, should, of itself, operate as a sufficient stimu- 
lus to enter into the movement. For, when all the advantages 
which, under good management, can be derived ti'oni associ- 
ated labor are taken into account, when laud is given, and 
numerous aids to self-support superadded, it does not seem as 
though men could hesitate about accepting and improving op- 
portunities thus placed within their reach. 

The system of bounty-lands has not tended practically to 
favor settlement. Within the past few years these grants 
have seldom been located by their original owners, most of 
whom have been in the habit of disposing of their warrants 
to speculators, for a trifle. Quantities of land, however large, 
when thus issued, are plainly valueless, as land, to their 
grantees, being only considered of worth as the representative 
of a floating value in the stock market. To throw land away 
in this manner is, certainly, to defeat the original purpose of 
the grant, which is to favor settlement upon it. 

Instead of bestowing (in addition to a pension) a section of 
one hundred and sixty acres of land, which, at the government 
price of .si 25 per acre, is worth two hundred dollars, upon 
each invalid, and of which, if unable to hire labor, he cannot 
till the quarter, give him three acres per head for every mem- 
ber of his family actually settling with him, of tillage land, 
and ten of grazing land. Supposing there are five members 
in each family, this would give from fifteen to fifty acres, 
worth $18 75, or s72 50. To each family of five members 
let one cow be given, value 8-5 ; also, a cheap house, costing 
not more than $200. One large building for factory purposes 
would be needed. The cost of this would of com-se vary witli 
15 



114 



circunistaiices, but taking tlie niininuim side of tlic ]H-obleiii, 
not less tlian $2,000 would be required to build and stock it 
with tools. This estimate does not include machinery. 

The following table will exhibit these propositions at a 
glance, calculated for a village of sixty fan^ilies. Throwing 
out of the account the land, which costs the government no- 
thing, and we have : 

60 houses, at $200 $12,000 

60 cows, at $25 1,500 

One factory with tools 2,000 

$15,500 
Add for contino-encies, not enumerable. . . . 1,000 



$16,500 



PEE CONTRA. 



Instead of such a village, on entering which, invalids should 
relinquish their pensions, let us see what the cost to the coun- 
try would annually be, were the invalids simply to draw their 
pensions. 

Supposing only one pensioner in each family, and he of the 
lowest grade — then the account would stand thns : 

Sixty pensioners at $96 per year, $5,T60 00 ; which sum in 
less than three years would amount to the cost of establishing 
an invalid village. 

After the expiration of three years, the country would tlius 
save $5,760 per annum, for each si.di/ invalids disposed of in 
this way, while the rise in value of the jniblic lands innnedi- 
ately adjoining these invalid villages would bring an addition- 
al return into the public treasury. 

Presenting families with land, a house, a cow, some farming- 
tools, and a factory for associated labor to exercise itself in. 



115 



are advantages which should induce a very large resort on the 
part of invalids to this mode of supporting themselves and 
their families. While, on the other hand, to the country at 
large, it constitutes a most economical method for reducing the 
expenses of the Pension Bureau. 

The government and direction of these villages should be 
under the care of the Agricultural Department. They should 
be managed with a due regard to the comfort and well-being of 
their inliabitants, as well as according to principles of econo- 
my. A local superintendent chosen from among the inhabi- 
tants themselves, and aided by proper assistants, should con- 
stitute the municipal government. But being in the nature 
of inchoate connnunities, like territories, they should be made 
amenable to the federal authority alone, in all questions rela- 
ting to organic changes in their management. The Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture might appoint a resident agent to super- 
intend the administration of the affairs of the community, 
though it would be more consonant with popular tastes to al- 
low the inhabitants to choose a superintendent for themselves. 
These are matters, however, of a subordinate character, and 
which circumstances must be allowed to direct. When the 
main question of the feasibility of these communities shall 
have been settled, all inferior ones will follow in course. 

AI^NUAL DISTKIBUTIOX OF PROFITS. 

The lands apportioned among the inhabitants of these vil- 
lages being intended for their support, should not be consider- 
ed as worked in common. N'o distribution of their profits 
should, therefore, be made. If the}' more than supply tlie 
wants of any one family, so much tlie better for them ; if they 
fail to do so, then the next source of support, tlie factory, must 
be applied to. Between these two sources it seems hardly 



IIG 



possible that any taiiiily could fail to earn sonietliinii; mure 
than a mere living. 

But, the factory, being common property, should be con- 
sidered the public domain of the community. Every one 
should have the right of working in it, subject only to the 
rules adopted by the majority for its management. A board 
of competent officers should regulate the hours, and kinds of 
labor. This board should keep an account of the amount of 
daily work performed by each person — dispose of the commo- 
dities manufactured — purchase whatever raw materials are 
necessary, and at the end of every quarter render a public ac- 
count, duly audited, of the financial condition of the village. 
At the end of every year, a ^J»r6> rata distribution of the nett 
earnings of the workmen should he made, according to the 
work performed by each. If deemed more expedient, this di- 
vision of profits might be made at the end of every quarter, or 
six months. But, whenever made, a government agent should 
be present to assist in auditing the accounts, and to ascertain, 
so as to be able to report knowingly, the exact condition of 
aifairs of the village. 

Placed in such circumstances as these, and surrounded by 
his family, almost every invalid would be able to earn more 
than the amount of the pension relinquished by him. Cer- 
tainly, he would find himself in a far more independent posi- 
tion, than could be the case in any other community, where 
he would have nothing but his pension to support him, with 
expenditures for house-rent, and provisions, to consume this 
amount twice over. Living rent free — his little farm giving 
him his daily bread, and, in case of physical incapacity, his 
children working in the factor}-, to assist in the general acqui- 
sitions of the family, it can not be doubted that to Americans^ 
this field would present those inducements to labor, and those 



117 



promises of self-support and honest indepeiidence, Avliich are 
the most stirring incentives to Innnan industry. With an in- 
telligent and adventurous population like our own to operate 
with, the experiment is certainly worth trying. 

PEOPOSITIOX SEVEX^TII. 

Is the Prussian Versorgungscficin — or pric'deijc to Jill vacan- 
cies occuring in subordinate government offices^ on surrend- 
ering the ijension already held — jjracticaljle with us f It 
heing understood that the incumhency shall he for life, or 
during good behavior . 

There are hundreds of subordinate government offices which 
might be filled by invalids, with credit to themselves and ac- 
ceptance to the country. These offices are scattered through- 
out the various States, and might be filled by tliose living at 
their own homes. The advantage fioAving from this feature 
of the rpiestion can not be over estimated, since, as we have 
before shown, home is always the best place for invalids, and 
every measure taken in their behalf should, as far as possible, 
look towards keeping them there. In conjunction, therefore, 
with communities, the government might bestow offices upon 
the oldest and most meritorious invalids, which should be for 
life, or during good behavior. Tliere seems no good reason 
wdiy offices, which are now given as rcw^ards to partizans, 
should not hereafter be given to those who, instead of a claim 
upon a political party only, have one upon the whole coun- 
try. The superior right is certainly vested in this latter 
class, and nothing could be more honorable than to provide 
for invalids in this way. It is a system which has been found 
to work well elsewhere, not only as a means of relieving the 
invalid, but also of diminishing the expenses of the Pension 



118 



Bureau ; fur, since the goveriiineiit nmst have employees in its 
various departments, it is far cheaper that it should accept 
those who, in receiving an appointment, relinquish their pen- 
sions, than to pay both employees and pensioners an annual 
stipend. In the one case it employs a man to whom it owes 
nothing, and rewards him equitably ; in the other ease it 
employs a man to whom it owes a yearly pension, but who 
nevertheless is willing to exchange this claim for that of a 
hired laborer. The whole pension is therefore clearly gained 
by the government under such an arrangement ; and when 
the hundreds or thousands of offices which can thus be filled 
are considered, the aggregate sum that would be saved to the 
country, annually, becomes immense. It is not saying too 
much to assert, that there are 10,000 such offices within the 
gift of the federal authorities, and rating them at the lowest 
grade of pensions (|96 per annum), the aggregate sum saved 
reaches the amount of $960,000, or nearly a million annually. 
This view of the matter certainly lends to the proposition a 
practical complexion, which shoidd recommend it to the gene- 
ral acceptance of the country, and the few inconse(iuential ob- 
jections which we have heard alleged against it, as, for exam- 
ple, that it would create an army of political proletaries, inter- 
ested in the perpetuit}^ of an administration, fall to the ground 
before the fact that these are life-qfjices, from which the invalid 
cannot be ousted so long as he continues competent and be- 
haves himself well. Again, invalids, in accepting these 
places, are, of course, selected on account of their disabilit}', 
and not because belonging to this or that political party, 
and it will onl}^ l)e an accident that they enter into such 
offices during the incumbency of any jmrty ^vitli which they 
may, in times past, have been politically associated. I>ut, as 
all these offices cannot be at once, or simultaneously tilled, in- 



119 



valids will have to wait for vacancies, aud these may not occur 
for years, so that political parties may entirely change ere a 
man's turn comes around. 

Another feature which nnist wholly negative this criticism, 
is that of the form under which the promise of office is to be 
made. It should not be verbal, nor dependent upon changing 
moods or caprices of favor — mere spasms of sentiment — in an 
appointing power, but should be fixed and immutable, an obli- 
gation transmitted from year to year, and which none could 
repudiate. 

In the first place, the oldest iu\'alids should have the prefer- 
ence given them in appointments of this kind, as well in 
justice to them as to their successors ; for, were young men to 
be selected, vacancies would not, in the natural course of events, 
happen often enough to afford any chance to others as a class. 
Therefore no men under sixty should be permitted to compete 
for these places, and the method of appointment might be as 
follows : On the recommendation of the public authorities of 
the invalid's place of residence, certifying to his character and 
competency, the head of the department in which he seeks to 
obtain an appointment should issue a ticket to him bearing a 
certain number, and certifying that when the next highest 
number has held the office, or died, or l)een disposed of in 
any other way, the candidate holding the succeeding number 
should, of right, receive the place, provided, always, his com- 
petency and meritoriousness still continue — facts which must 
aijain be certified to as before. 



120 
PROPOSITION EIGHTH. 

^1 SoUIutk'' Lidddi'lal ExcJianyc ishouhl he edahlished in every 
large city, the ofjject and j)urjjoses of lohich should he to fur- 
nish facilit'ies, for such of them, as may he able to worlc, to 
hec</nie ac<piai7ited' tvith those ivho need their lahor. 

The promises of einploynient are always so great in large 
cities, and tlie spirit of gregarioiisness so constant an element 
in human nature, that places like these will continne to invite, 
heyond the country, an influx of laborers. The glut in the 
labor-market, which must at times necessarily ensue, will limit 
the chances of employment to the best and most competent 
workmen ; in consequence of which, invalids, who may wish 
to remain in cities, instead of availing themselves of the vari- 
ous outside channels of employment which, it is hoped, will 
be created for them, will And it extremely difficult to obtain 
occupation. Under these circumstances their condition will be 
jutiable in the extreme, for it is certain that their pension 
alone cannot support them in idleness (nor, indeed, was it in- 
tended to), and the result for them will be inevitable destitu- 
tion, and possibly beggary. To avoid this, the worst feature 
of social organization, and which soonest demoralizes man- 
kind, and tends to sweep them into the vortex of crime, some 
means must be adopted for securing employment to invalids. 
As they do not always know who are seeking for laborers, and 
cannot afford to advertise their wants, many of them Avill un- 
doubtedly lose opportunities of employment from the very 
fact of not knowing where to look for them. They may be 
very zealous in their search — willing to accept almost any- 
thing, and yet not succeed in obtaining the least chance to 
earn a livelihood. Such are the daily ex})eriences of life in 
all large cities, and such, too, the occasion of much of that 



121 



poverty wliicli, from its too frequent affiliation with crime, l)e- 
conies a source of unjust reproach to so many. While this is 
the constitution of thing's, we cannot hope to radically alter 
the effects which flow from it. They are the legitimate results 
of causes lying far below the surface of things, and out of reach, 
therefore, of all organic reform. The only course left society is 
to check, as far as possible, an increase of the unemployed, 
and particularly of unemployed invalids, who, from their ina- 
bility to change locality, and to transport their families else- 
where, are, in a great measure, tied down to particidar places, 
where, if they cannot earn a living, they must in time draw 
upon the charities of the public, or ultimately drift into alms- 
houses. 

It will not, we presume, be denied that these results are in 
a great measure preventaljle l)y removing their original causes. 
Where men are starving for want of work, A\-ork must, if pos- 
sible, be found for them ; or, if it cannot be found, then it 
must be created, on the principle that the world owes every 
being in it a living. But in our country, M'ith its thousand 
undeveloped resources, new^ lields of labor are constantly being- 
opened. New railroads and canals, tactories and workshops, 
are being constantly built. Stout arms, it is true, are wanted 
for most of these purposes, but alongside of the lieavj^ labor 
are parallel employments requiring intelligence rather than 
brute force — thinking heads instead of muscular arms. It is 
here that invalids may come in and subserve the thousand 
wants of the hour, and it behooves all to see that they are duly 
remembered in the call for laborers. With an industrial 
exchange in each city to keep the record of the wants of the 
labor-market, and to be in direct communication with all 
invalids or other soldiers seeking employment, such a system 
rtf direct and mutual assistance, both to employers and em- 
IC 



122 



plojees, could he perfected, as would render it a liviug source 
of benefaction to the industrious and labor-seeking operative. 
It would constitute a bureau of itself, and being ever^-where 
under the eye of the Government, would soon ac(j[uire a pre- 
ponderating influence as a reliable reconnnender of the best 
and most meritorious workmen. 

The organization and supervision of these industrial ex- 
changes should remain in the hands of the Government, and 
they might be carried on at very slight expense, or even, per- 
haps, without any. Thus, in every large city, where there is 
a Pension Agency, there might be an exchange of this kind 
established in connection with it, and placed under the charge 
of an intelligent invalid. He should have the exclusive duty 
assigned him of superintending this department, subject only 
to the control of the Pension Agent, to whom he should make 
monthly reports of the business transacted by him. And, in 
order to stinnilate his zeal in behalf of invalids seeking em- 
ployment, he should, in lieu of a fixed salary, receive a trifling 
fee from each person obtaining the services of an invalid 
through his agency. By these means he would be induced to 
exert himself to the utmost of his ability, knowing that his 
official gains depended upon the nund)er of invalids for whom 
he found employment. 

At this exchange should be kept a register in which all 
invalids, or discharged soldiers seeking employment should en- 
ter their names, age, nationality, nuirried or single condition, 
regiment in which they served, trade or profession, nature of 
their disability, and wdiat they are able to do. But oidy those 
should be so registered who have been honorably discharged 
from the service on accoiuit of disability, and can produce cer- 
tificates of good moral character. The object of the institu- 
tion being to open the doors of oj^portunity to tlie industrious 



123 



and virtuous — none wanting in eitlier of these qualities should 
be admitted upon its register. This course, if rigorously fol- 
lowed, would inspire general coniidence in the honesty and 
efficiency of the men obtained at these agencies. They would 
be more sought for, on this very account, and would run less 
risk of wanting employment than if seeking for it at large, 
and without being identified with some industrial exchange. 
It M'ould, therefore, be a permanent benefit both to employers 
and employees to establish such a bureau as this, laying aside 
even the predominant motive of humanity which appears in 
its organization. And as the public would thus directly share 
in the ad^'antages afforded by it of honest and reliable work- 
men, while the workmen in turn would be better assured of 
speedy employment than if left to themselves to find it, there 
can be little doubt of the success and popularity of such an 
enterprise. 

PROPOSITION NINTH. 

Could not a Sedentary Corps be established from Invalids, and 
with lohich forts coidd he garrisoned, and all the lighter 
duties of militarg life Ve jyerformedf 

Since the first promulgation of this proposition in February 
1863, the War Department has formed what is nominalh' an 
Invalid Corps, although not in the sense in which it is con- 
templated above. The present Invalid Corps is enlisted for 
three years only, and unless this enlistment is made reneAvable 
at the expiration of that time, the practical benefit of such a 
corps to disabled soldiers will be slight and at best temporary. 
The fact, also, that drafted men, found upon preliminary ex- 
amination to be disabled for field-service, are to be placed in 
tins corps, entirely changes its character, and renders it a mere 



124 



lialf-waj house of reception for all classes of disabled soldiers, 
botli those who have been honorably discharged from the ser- 
vice, and those who have never before been in it. The propo- 
sition above is intended to ap])ly, as do all its predecessors, to 
disabled soldiers, honorably discharged as such from the ser- 
vice and drawing pensions therefor. 

An Invalid, or Sedentary Corps should, at the very outset, 
be a permanent organization, designed to accommodate those 
whose tastes or predilections cause them to prefer a military 
to a civil life. The enlistment might be for any length of 
time desirable, as for three, five, or seven years ; but it slioidd 
also be renewable, so that any one so electing might remain 
in service throughout life. Being essentially a corps of honor, 
every inducement should be given invalids to continue in it 
as long as they can possibly be serviceable. Many a man, 
especially if unmarried, would prefer the easy, regular duties, 
without exposure, of this corps, to the more active, but more 
feverish necessities of civil life, where the spur of competition 
enables the strong to distance with facility the Aveak and ail- 
ing. Besides which, habits of industry and self-directed occu- 
pation resulting in the perfecting of skill, when dissipated for 
any length of time l^y service in the army, are not easily nor 
even voluntarily re-acrpiired. A majority of those who have 
been soldiers long enough to become thoroughly saturated 
with the atmosphere of their profession, prefer to continue in 
it, especially when, recognized and honored as veterans, they 
are allowed the indulgence of lighter duties, and innnunity 
from exposures of life or health. Hence, there is no reason 
why, under the peace establishment of our army, a majority 
of the troops designed for garrison duties should iiot be re- 
cruited in this way. It would certainly open a very wide 
Held of employment to a class of men who, otherwise, would 



125 



chafe sadly beneath the taineness and the responsibilities of 
civil life, and often, too, to a degree snfficient to render them 
only indifferently good citizens. All these considerations dic- 
tate the necessity of continuing for some time the opportunity 
of re-enlisting, and resuming the discipline of military life. 
The}^ are better pleased and happier, and in that sense dis. 
charge their individual duties to society more acceptably to all. 

In entering the Sedentary Corps, and while he remains in 
it, the invalid should relinquish his pension, for there is neither 
reason nor justice in his drawing support from two govern- 
ment sources simultaneously. The theory of pensions is, that 
a man, by reason of his services to the State, has lost the ability 
to support himself, consequently the State, in return for this 
act of sacrifice, and in a true spirit of equity, grants him a life- 
annuity. But, so long as he can earn his living just as well 
after the service rendered as before, it is clear that the State 
owes him no support. He has, practically^, lost nothing, and 
can not justly ask for a pension. When, therefore, an invalid 
enters the Sedentary Corps, and draws pay and rations as 
such, he furnishes thereby the best refutation of his disability 
to earn his own living. He becomes at once self-supporting 
by the act of the State itself which gave him this opportunity, 
and consequently he should have no right to claim a share of 
its pension fund. 

On leaving the corps, at the expiration of his term of ser- 
vice, or on being discharged from it for disability, he should 
be allowed to resume his pension, precisely as before. If too 
old to work, he coidd then enter an asylum, or receive a 
place under Government, requiring only light and passive 
duties, or, if a married man, return to his family. It might 
be a good plan to use the sedentary corps exclusively in the 
localities where it was recruited. Thus, the forts about New 



12G 



Yoi'k might be garrisoned hy the sedentary corps recruited in 
that vicinity ; and so with Boston, Pliiladclphia, etc. In tliis 
way, many invalids knowing that they woukl not lie far re- 
moved from their families, would be induced to enter the 
corps, and the Government would thus save a large amount in 
pensions, while at the same time securing useful soldiers. In 
other words, instead of paying both pensioners and soldiers, it 
could maintain both classes nnder one payment. 



REPORT 



ON CERTAIN PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO OUR PRESENT 



PENSION LAWS 



" And he commanded to give to all that kept the city, penaiom and 
wfiffes." — 1 Endras iv. 5G. 

PENSIONS. 

The idea symbolized l)y a pension is that of a reward given 
to tlie citizen by the state, in return for vahiable services ren- 
dered, and serious injuries incurred in her behalf. If we start 
with the assumption that the state has a right to the services 
of all her citizens, and that it is, consequently, their duty to 
answer her calls whenever made (although involving loss of 
health or life), we shall be easily led to the conclusion that no 
right to a reward of any kind primarily exists. Whatever is 
incund)ent upon us as a duty, especially to a superior, creates 
no obligation of reward on his part. We render to him what 
is justly his due, and in that sense are simply discharging an 
indebtedness which, created at birth, follows us throughout 
life. Nemo jpossit exuere pairiam ; and in that sense, though 
chiefly applied to cases of naturalization, by parity of reason 
it may l)e construed to mean that no one can cast himself loose 
from the duties which he owes his country. The duty to 



128 



sacrilice all in lier l)elialf, wliencvcr tlic occasion demands it, 
being an obligation paranionnt on every citizen, he can claim 
no relief for tlie injnries received in lier service, on any 
principle of abstract justice. In this view of the case, which 
we believe will be conceded to be the true one, the right to a 
pension is not a natural, but an institutional and positive one. 

Nevertheless, it is found that the interests of the state arc 
best sidjserved by modifying certain abstract rights, and im- 
parting to them a color of equity suited to the exigencies of 
actual life. Thus, although the state has an abstract right to 
the services of the citizen, it is right that she should, in return 
therefor, reward him for losses sustained, on the principle that 
it is not her interest to make paupers of her citizens, but, on 
the contrary, to elevate them to the ability of independence 
and self-support. This being so recognized the world over, 
there has grown up an increasing estimate of the value of per- 
sonal services rendered to the state, particularly in the tield, 
and a corresponding disposition to affix to such services a 
legal reward, which shall continue not only through life, but 
even descend to the children of the recipient during their mi- 
nority. 

The origin of pensions may be considered as coeval with 
that of civilized society. From the earliest times it was re- 
garded as a sacred duty on the part of the state, towards its 
defenders, to reward them with gratuities of money or gifts of 
land, or to sup})ort them at public cost in return for the ser- 
vices they had rendered. During even the crepuscular pe- 
riod of Grecian history, and before the time of Theseus, as 
Thucydides* informs us, every city or state of Attica pos- 
sessed a Prytaneum, where citizens, in return for meritorious 

*Tlmcy<lidcs, ii. 15. 



129 

personal services to the state, were honored with the privilege 
of taking their meals at the public cost. And the custom of 
thus pensioning distinguished citizens w^as then considered so 
ancient, as to be referred back to the mythical days of Codrus. 
Augustus Caesar, with that large and liberal mind which 
became a patron of the arts and literature, feeling the great 
and lasting obligations of the State to her military population 
made ample provision to reward his veterans by the creation 
of a military treasury (serarium militare).* He began by be- 
stowing upon such as had been honorably discharged and ob- 
tained the mmio honesta, a pension in money, instead of a 
grant of land ;t and graduated the scale of pensions according 
to rank, so that all the eiaeriti might have a share in it. Per- 
ceiving, after some years, that soldiers were hardly compen- 
sated by the small pension they received, and that few cared 
to re-enlist after their term of service had expired, he thereupon 
increased the retiring pension, fixing it at 20,000 sesterces 
($1,750 60) for pretorians),:}: and 12,000 sesterces ($860) for 
legionaries. This sum, it will be perceived, w^as large enough 
to support veterans without labor of any kind, and was in 
fact designed by the astute emperor to remove from them all 
necessity or incentive to return to the pursuits of civil life. 
His policy was to keep them as long as possible in the mili- 
tary service, by assuring them an entire independence after 
their retirement. § JSTo monarch has ever enmlated Augustus 
in this particular, nor sought, by so generous an expansion of 



* Suetonius Octav., 49. 

f Digest xlix., tit. xvi., leg. 13. 

% The pretorians constituting a corps d'elite, or body-guard to the em- 
peror, each member had the same rank as the centurions in the regulai* 
legions. 

§ Dezobry, Rome sous Auguste, vol. iv. 

IT 



130 

pensions, to retain soldiers in the public service. The history 
of the pretorian cohorts, and the record of their mercenary 
character, is a sufficient commentary upon the pohcy of main- 
taining such bodies of soldiers. In the best sense of the term 
they were only hirelings, whom the hope of plunder and the 
prospect of gain held together by the coliesive ties of common 
dishonesty. E-epeated in the character of Janizaries under 
the Turkish sultans, these pampered body-guards have long 
been discarded, as dangerous appendages to sovereignty, and 
serious disturbers of the stability of governments. 

In the feudal ages grants of land, rather than sums of 
money, appear to have been bestowed in return for military 
services, although in some places, France in particular, con- 
vents were compelled to take in and maintain old and decrepid 
soldiers, they returning some nominal service for their support. 
In proportion, however, as commerce has increased, this style 
of pensioning has diminished, and special asylums have been 
created, for the purpose of supplementing the wants of those 
whose pension, being their sole means of support, was inade- 
quate for that purpose. Hence, there have been out and in- 
pensioners in all modern governments — o^/^-pensioners receiv- 
ing a full gratuity for their maintenance, proportioned to their 
rank, and m-pensioners surrendering this gratuity on entering 
an asylum. By these means hundreds of thousands of men in 
Europe, who have become disabled in the public service, are 
kept from actual pauperism. And while the various govern- 
ments thus provide against their suffering for the necessaries 
of life, they are at the same time careful not to render the 
pension a temptation to idleness, by aftbrding a complete sup- 
port to the recipient. He is always, when able, expected 
to exert himself in his own behalf, and for that purpose 
the incentive of a certain degree of necessity is never taken 
from him. 



131 



In all those go\'eriiiiients where standing armies are the 
rule, the right to claim a pension is based not only on inju- 
ries received in the line of one's duty while in the service, but 
also, and independent of injuries, npon length of service. This 
acts as a stimnlus to enlistments, keeps the army well supplied 
with volunteers, and renders the conscription necessary, in 
time of peace, only for the purpose of annually selecting those 
who have never yet discharged the debt of military service 
which every citizen owes to his country. This class, restricted 
to the youth of twenty, forms a portion alone of the whole 
army ; from tive to seven years being the term of service re- 
quired. After this time, those continuing in the army are 
volunteers M'ho have enlisted, and this they may repeat until 
they complete the time necessarj^ to entitle them to a retiring 
pension. Even those in the civil service of the government 
are entitled, after from twenty to twenty-five years of duty, 
to pensions on retiring ; a system which is found to secure 
both greater honesty and fidelity in the discharge of official 
duties, as well as more competency and efficiency in the officers 
themselves, l)y reason of the experience acquired in their sev- 
eral occupations, through the groat length of time during 
which they have followed them. 

It seems hardly necessary in this connection, to point out 
the advantages which must always rest with an army com- 
posed almost entirely of veteran troops. Where officers and 
men are habituated to the performance of their duties, time 
will only serve to confirm them in precision and efficiency. 
And should the return of a state of war compel such an army 
to take the field, the difference in ability to march and fight, 
will be all in favor of that side whose troops are confirmed in 
the discipline of active military life. Were tliis not so, the 
militia, or reserved force in every country, would be deemed a 



132 



sufficient inilitary power to obviate the necessity of maintain- 
ing a standing army. But precisely becanse veterans have al- 
ways the advantage over raw levies, which latter rerpiire many 
months in order to pass into the category of well-disciplined 
soldiers, do governments generally maintain a permanent mili- 
tary organization, and employ, even while on a peace footing, 
this force as a nucleus for future armies. Once established, it 
is ready at the first call to break the shock of war, and may be 
relied upon to breast the earliest waves of invasion, holding 
them Imck until a newly raised and well-disciplined force 
shall in turn come to the rescue. 

In our country, there being nothing as yet deserving the 
name of a standing army, and few men being found who have 
served more than one term, pensions for length of service have 
not yet recei^'ed any recognition as such. But with the results 
likely to flow from the present war, it seems more than proba- 
ble that we shall have to maintain in future a standing army 
of considerable magnitude. This army will tend to increase 
with the further increase of our population and territory, and 
those who serve in it should be provided with sufficient in- 
ducement to re-enlist, when their original term of service, has 
expired. In this way, and adopting the military profession as 
a permanent career, men may be found who, having faithfully 
served the State for the best portion of their active life, are 
certainly entitled to some gratuity on retiring. A grant of 
land is not sufficient reward in itself for such men. The quar- 
ter section bestowed upon them, from their little disposition to 
settle upon it, falls readily into the hands of speculators. Sol- 
diers are not like merchants ; they cannot aftbrd to wait for a 
rise in real estate to produce a capital on which to support 
their old age. They must live every day, and have something 
to live upon. Hence, a regular annuity or pension, however 



133 



small, is far better for them tlian the gift of a tract of land, 
whose ultimate and excessive value they may never live to 
realize. It is, therefore, the most equitable form in which 
they can be rewarded, and the one, too, which the wisdom 
even of the ancients, no less than of the moderns, has adopted 
throughout the civilized world. Even in the daj'S of the Em- 
peror Augustus, the Roman veterans (emeriti) preferred the 
gift of an annuity to that of a grant of land, and it was this 
fact more than au}^ other, which led him to create a military 
treasury, although at the same time extending the time of ser- 
vice. Tliis custom of rewarding length of service, having had 
the sanction of experience, wherever tried, it seems but just to 
infer will be found as applicable to our army as to any otlier. 
It is therefore suggested that there should be such an amend- 
ment of the existing pension laws, as will provide for the exi- 
gencies of the future, on the su])position, now almost accepted 
as a foregone conclusion, that we shall have to maintain here- 
after a large standing army. Under this aspect of things, the 
following propositions are submitted for the purpose of awaken- 
ing public attention to the subject, while at the same time 
offering some suggestions as a nucleus for more extensive de, 
velopment, 



134 
PROPOSITION FIRST. 

All non~co7m)iissioned qfficey's cmd privates s&rviny In the ariinj 
for twenty-five years should he entitled to the full pension of 
their rani', just as if they had heen honoraUy discharged 
from the service, at any time, on account of wounds or dis- 
ease contracted in the line of their ditty. This pension 
should he additional to any hounty given for enlisting, or 
any tract of land hestowed at the expiration of the first term 
of service. The gratuities to the soldier would then stand 
thus : 

1st. Bounty for enlisting {fixed hy Congress). 

2d. Tract of land on heing honoraUy discharged after the 
first term (f service. 

3d. Full pension after serving honorahly for twenty-five 
years. 

In our introductory remarks we have so full}^ explained the 
reasons foreshadowing this proposition, tliat nothing more 
need he added to it. Of course, it will he understood that a 
man wounded or disahled in the service, may at any time (as 
is now the case) he discharged and pensioned — length of ser- 
vice applying only to those who have escaped casualties of 
this kind, and choose to continue in the army up to the period 
designated ahove, as necessary to entitle a soldier to a retiring 
pension. The retiring pension should, therefore, always he a 
fdl pension, and not susceptible of sub-division, by reason of 
serving any less number of years. 

A young man, entering the army at twenty, would thus be 
able to retire at forty-five on a full pension, and with the pros- 
])ect of twenty to twenty-five years of life before him, during 
which he might end^ark hito business of any kind which his 



135 

taste selected. In this way the possibility of increasing his 
fortune would inspire his industry to exert itself to the 
utmost, 

PEOPOSITION SECOND. 

All Hddiers having served honomUy in thu war, and who 
may re-enlid at its expiration, should have their time dated 
hack to the day of their original, eniry into the war, so as to 
make the period of their first service count douUe. 

This would serve to give them honorable distinction among 
all other soldiers who may Ijegin their term of service after 
the war, and make them also the more xvilling to continue in 
the army, knowing that at the expiration of a certain length 
of time, whether disabled or not, they would receive a full 
pension. Hereafter the rule should be adopted, as in the Eu- 
ropean armies, that time spent in campaigns should count 
double. The object of this is to infuse a high spirit of zeal 
into an army at the outset of a war, and to make it court 
rather than shun the dangers and hardships of a campaign, by 
showing this to be the true r..ad to promotion and honorable 
rewards. Such a stimulus as this would not fail to keep the 
ranks of any future army full of veterans, and it seems the 
part of wisdom to avail ourselves of it at the earliest possible 
moment. 

propositio:n third. 

The time spent hy soldiers as prisoners of ivar, not under pa^ 
role, hut in actual co7ifinement, shall count asfolloim, viz: 
each winter month as six months ; each summer month as 
three months. 

In almost all countries the hardships to whicli j^risoners of 



136 

War are more or less exposed, have ever been regarded as con- 
ferring upon them a chiim to reward of some kind. But inas- 
much as these are some of tlie necessary incidents of war, no 
positive rights accrue to them in the premises. Accepting, as 
they must, all tlie accidents to which their profession exposes 
them, they cannot exact any indemnity; and it is only in 
order to reward them for the additional sufferings thus incur- 
red, that governments have generally consented to count the 
time thus spent doubly to their credit. But in the present war 
the degree of hardships imposed upon our captive soldiers has 
so far transcended anything ever before witnessed among 
civilized nations, as to entitle them to the largest measure of 
reward, in counting time of service, that can possibly be al- 
lowed ; and we have accordingly suggested six to one for the 
winter months, and three to one for the summer, as the credit 
in time to l)e given them. 

PEOPOSITION FOURTH. 

]Vhenever a sjjecially ^neritarious action has teen j^cformed 
hy a soldier or non-commissioned officer, a full jjension 
should he granted to him in addition to his regular jMy- 
But on afterioards com^ileting twenty-five years in the se?'- 
vice, or 071 heing honorably discharged therefrom on account 
of wounds or disease contracted in the line of duty, no ad- 
ditional pension shoidd he granted. 

It has been the custom from time immemorial, to reward by 
marks of peculiar distinction, the soldier who performs a spe- 
cially meritorious action. Tliis has only been a recognition 
of the principle that the hope of a reward is the best and 
most enduring stimulus which can be applied to the human 
mind. And that in proportion as men can l)e assured of a di- 



^ 



137 



rect gain, either i)i fame, honor t)i' treasure, hy reason of tlieir 
efforts, will those cftbrts be made with alacrity and zeal. Among 
the military nations of antiquity, rewards, not only for gene- 
ral services to the State, hut for specially meritorious actions, 
were recognised as an obligation due from the State to its 
citizens, and wherever an individual thus distinguished liim- 
self, he was forthwith elevated by public decree to a dignity 
which placed him on a footing with the most lionored of his 
fellow-citizens. Thus the corona olsidionalis was presented 
by a beleaguered army after its liberation to the general who 
had relieved it ; the corona civica, to the soldier who had 
preserved the life of a Eoman citizen in 1 tattle. Both these 
distinctions were considered as among the highest the State 
could confer, and on that account their attainment was hedged 
about by ^■ery severe restrictions. Among the moderns, it has 
been usual, besides promoting the meritorious person, to super- 
add some form of gratuity, either in tlie nature of a pension, 
or an exemption from public l)urthens. In Fi-ance, in particu- 
lar, the creation of a Legion of Honor Ijy the iirst Kapoleon 
has always been recognised as an act of great wisdom as well 
as justice. There the legionaries, besides the cross, receive a 
pension, and the institution does not restrict its mendjership to 
military men alone, Ijut includes all who have distinguished 
themselves in the cause of humanity. In this respect it stands 
without a rival. 

Tlie advantages conferred upon an army l)y such a system 
of rewards are incalculable. They stimulate the soldier's 
pride and manhood ; keep him on his good behavior, develop 
his sentiment of nationality, and make him feel that he is a 
ward of the State itself, which will unfailingly honor him, ac- 
cording as he honors himself. This acts as an incentive to the 
best class of men to enter the army, where, in former times, 
18 



138 



too often, only the shipwrecked in fortune, and, worse still, in 
character, were found disposed to join its ranks. 

I^or would it add to the probable number of pensioners, 
since, in times of peace, the number of opportunities to per- 
form specially meritorious actions, nnist, of necessity, be limi- 
ted, and besides, the soldier, when thus rewarded, has no 
further claim to any pension, although he shoidd afterwards 
complete his twenty-live years of service, on the well-received 
principle that no person should enjoy two sinndtaneous pen- 
sions from the same source. As long as he contiimes in the 
army, the soldier has his pay and his honorable pension ; on 
leaving it, he, of course, parts with his pay, and retains his 
pension : so that, as betAveen him and the one not thus distin- 
guished, but who receives a retiring pension, the diiference is 
only in time. Both, after twenty-five years, receive a similar 
pension, only that the honorable pensioner has had his in ad- 
vance, and superadded to his pay, while the other has had to 
wait twenty -live years before receiving his. We can but think 
this as Avise and just a method of rewarding meritorious actions 
in the army, as the circumstances of our institutions will permit, 

PROPOSITION FIFTH. 

Officers remaining in the service twenty-jive years should he 
alloioed to 'retire on a pension equal to one-third their origi- 
nal pay, and for each additioncd five years of service, iij) to 
thirty-five, one-sixth more should he added, so as to enaUe it 
to reach, hut never exceed, one-half their original pay. 

Some greater inducement than the actual pay of their rank, 
or the promotion Hkel}' to befall them, should be presented to 
officers who remain in the service. Tinder the old regime it was 
rare to find an officer selectinL;; tlie arniv as a career for life. 



139 

A inajoritj of the graduates of West Point have, generally, after 
a few years, resigned their commissions, and this, not so nnicli 
from actual disrelish of military life, as from the enforced in- 
activity to which it doomed them. The monotony of garrison 
life — the tardiness of promotion, and the dead uniformity of 
existence thus presented to the minds of ambitious young men, 
early led them to seek for spheres of more active employment. 
These they found in the varying pursuits of civil life, where, 
in scores of ways, they acquired fame and a competency. 

This evil to the best interests of an army has been noticed 
in other countries as well as our own, and in order to control 
it to some extent, there have been created retiring pensions, 
founded upon length of service, and independent of all invalid- 
ism from either wounds or disease. Tliis period, in general, 
has been extended to thirty years of actual service, but for 
reasons which will readily occur to all, and considering the 
difference in constitution also, Ave have suggested twenty-iive 
years as long enough for officers serving in our armies. After 
that time, if the officer elects to remain, nothing prevents 
him, while a small prospective increase in his pension still acts 
as an incentive to his zeal and stimulates his hope ; but having 
already served twenty-five years, and given his best days to 
the puljlic, he has certainly earned his retiring pension, and 
should be allowed to return to civil life, where, with some re- 
maining vigor, he may be able to engage in any pursuits that 
offer themselves to his tastes and inclination. In this way we 
should always have a corps of veteran officers, both seniors and 
subalterns, to connnand our armies, a feature that would insure 
both economy and good discipline in tiieir government. 



140 

PROPOSITION SIXTH. 

Loss of ranh hy judginent of a Court Martial should entail 
loss of its corresponding Pension, except whore the.party has 

alreadij completed ttcenty-five years of service, when the judg- 
ment should ordy eperate as a bar to any future increase of 
pension. 

PPtOPOSITION SEVENTH. 

Whenever an officer shall he suspended hy judgment of Court 
Martiid , from all command and pay appropriate to his 
ranh, the time thus spent ly him. shall he deducted from the 
sum total of the period of service entitling him to a retiring 
pension. 

It seems only ii just result of the penalty thus incurred hy 
an officer, that the time spent hy him in disgrace should he 
hlotted out of the record of his military career; and cctainly 
this time, marking, as it does, a period of dishonor, ought not 
to he included in the honorahle period hy which he wins his 
way to a meritorious retirement and pension. Without making 
him hegin his service de novo, it simply eliminates from the 
sum total a period when, according to the judgment of his 
peers, he Avas no longer deemed worthy to discharge his active 
official functions. 

PliOPOSITION EIGIITIT. 

Pensioners should cease to draio their 2Jcr^sio7is whenever they 
obtain a life office in the puUic service with pay equivalent 
to the pension. 

Little argument is recpiired to show the jtistice of this })ro- 
position. The rule that no man should draw two pensions 



Ul 



from the same source, and for the same service, is very gen- 
erally recognized as a just one. For, although it might be 
said that one was in fact a salary, yet the consideration 
moving to the appointment of a pensioner to a life office, 
when some one else could answer as well, would })lainly 
reveal itself as a compensation to him for inadequacy of re- 
ward. Were the salary precisely equal to the pension, unless 
some perquisites were superadded, it is probable that most pen- 
sioners would not care to make the exchange ; but when the 
salary transcends by far the original pension, it becomes in fact 
an amplified pension, and in that sense should extinguish the 
minor gratuity altogether. The difficulty might be to insure 
the office for life to the pensioner, but, and as Ave have shown 
in our previous report, whenever a pensioner accepts an ap- 
})ointment to a public office, which practically equals in emol- 
ument his original pension, that office should belong to him 
for life or during good behavior, and in return he should re- 
linquish his pension. ■ 

PROPOSITION NINTH. 

There should he a scale of iihysical disalnUties included 
among the iiistructions issued to examining surgeons for 
2)ensions, hy means of which they coidd definitely classify 
pensioners. 

In all the leading governments of Europe, })liysical disal)ili- 
ties are tabulated for the purpose of better classifying pension- 
ers. Inasmuch as there are degrees in disability, and rates of 
pension primarily depend upon these, it has been deemed a 
simple act of justice to the invalid to fix, by law, some definite 
scale whereby his disability could be classified, and his rate of 
reward apportioned accordingly. But for this, each examining 



142 



surgeon might furiii his own opinion of the disubility under 
which the invahd shouhl he rated, some making it liigher, 
some lower, so that tlironghout a whole country no similarity 
in classification would exist, each surgeon acting according to 
his own fancy in the matter. The consequence would be, that 
tlie Pension Bureau would very often have upon its lists men 
laboring under similar disabilities, yet diiferently classitied and 
drawing difterent rates of pension, from the fact that one sur- 
geon had rated at one-]ialf, or two-thirds disal)i]ity, the same 
inlirmity which another had considered as total disability. It 
is undoul)tedly true that diseases produce different conse- 
quences upon their subjects, and that all men are not similarly'- 
affected by them, yet wherever the integrity of any organ has 
been compromised, and however long it may have required to 
produce this change, we liave no general law authorizing us to 
l)elieve that its lesion will slumber benignly, as it maj^ ap- 
pear to us by one examination, but rather that it will increase, 
and continue acquirere vires eundo until life itself is threaten- 
ed. For this reason, among others, it is possible to frame a 
scale of disabilities sufficiently precise to cover the prognosis 
as well as the diagnosis of an infirmity. We may say that 
such or such disabilities being prol)ably incuraljle, shall consti- 
tute a particular class, and should the pensioner afterM'ards re- 
cover, the biennial examination can easily test this,* and if 
proved, eliminate him from the list of the disabled, or place 
him in a lower class. 

Another reason calling for the establishment of a graduated 
scale of disabilities in our country, is found in the fact, that 
surgeons are now tempted to exaggerate their estimates of the 
consequences of disabilities, by the greater number of pension 
applicants which are thus invited to their doors, and the in- 
creased income derived from their examination fees. A surgeon 



143 



who believes in iiotliiiig sliort of total disability, and can see 
no degrees below this, will of coin-se be selected and of prefer- 
ence by invalids, to examine their inlirniities ; while his col- 
leagne, who practises npon a more just and scientiiic estimate 
of the moral and physical laws governing mankind, and be- 
lieves in degreees of moral turpitude as well as of physical im- 
pairment, will be studiously avoided. These consequences 
have been observed already in many places, and are inaugu- 
rating a system of deceit and successful fraud, which, not even 
the unfortunate condition of those in whose behalf it is prac- 
tised, can justify. Besides this, high-toned and scientific men 
will Ije driven away Ijy such })ractises from the ranks of ex- 
amining surgeons, and this important field of observation be 
surrendered to the low-minded and unfaithful, alone. 

Again, a scale of disal)ilities is called for, because it docs not 
seem right to put upon the surgeon the responsibility of de- 
termining and deciding what rate of pension the invalid 
should have. Strictly speaking, he has no business with tlud 
consequence of his otherwise physical exploration of the appli- 
cant. The law alone should regulate this. Since, where it is 
so largely optional with the surgeon, as at present, the ten- 
dency is always to lean towards the granting of the largest 
rate. All these disadvantages, which have manifested them- 
selves fully in the Old World, and led to the establishment of 
a fixed scale of disabilities, in most countries, warn us that the 
time is now at hand when such should be done here likewise. 
Every day the list of pensioners is increasing, and we owe it 
to all to see that no injustice is done any, but that each one, 
according to his degree of disability, shall take his proper 
place in the ranks, neither usurping others' rights, nor having 
liis own usurped.* 

■'•• In ovdcr to show that a scale of disabilities is not only possible, but has 
long been consiilcrcd as an instrument of indisputable advantage to Gov- 



144 



Listnictionx ts.^iicd Inj our Pension Bureau to Examining 

Surgeons. 

" 111 estiniiitiii<i: the degree of dis;il)ility Iroiu wounds, yon 
will rate the loss of a limb, or of a hand or a foot, as total. 
The loss of one eye, the sight of the other being nnimpaired, 
7nai/ be reckoned as one-half disability. Injnries cansing 
great and incnralile deformities, though not directly disquali- 
fying for manual labor, should be regarded as tending to ex- 
clude the applicant from obtaining employment, and liberally 
estimated. In eases of disease, more sjjecijie direetions ean 
not he given as to the rate, hut eacJi ease inast he left to the 
judgment of the medical examiner. The former occupation 
of the applicant is not to be taken as the basis for reckoning 
the degree. Any cause, other than that alleged ojperating to 
increase the disahilit(j, should he noted, hut not taken into ac- 
count in this estimate.''^ 



crnments in classifying military pensionei's, wc subjoin the lable adopted by 
the States-General of Holland in 16G5. 

For the loss of both eyes 1,500 livres, or $277 50 

For one eye 350 " G4 75 

For both arms 1,500 " 277 50 

For the right arm 950 " 83 25 

For the left arm 350 " G4 75 

For both hands 1,200 " 222 00 

For the right hand 350 " 04 75 

For the left hand 500 " 55 50 

For both legs 700 " 13G 50 

For one leg 350 " 64 75 

For both feet 450 " 83 25 

For one foot 200 " 37 00 

The doctrine of Wer cy ild VLiwowg the Anglo-Saxons, although instituted as 
an element of their penal legislation, was, nevertheless, a rational recog- 
nition of the principle that injuries to the person might be tabulated with 
relation to their extent and consequences. 



145 



SCALE OF DISABILITIES BY WHICH TO CLASSIFY 
INVALID PENSIONERS.* 

UNITED STATES AKMY. 

Disabilities sufficient to entitle a party to a pension for ser- 
vices rendered, either in the army or navy, are divided into 

Jive classes, viz : 

I. INFIRMrriES TO BE KATED AS TOTAL DISABILITY. 

1. Great injuries of the skull, occasioning decided impair- 
ment of the intellectual faculties ; severe and constant head- 
ache, epilepsy, or other manifest nervous or spasmodic symp- 
toms, 

2. Total loss of sight. 

3. Complete deafness. 

4. Loss of tongue. 

5. Loss of an arm, hand, leg, or foot. 

0. Loss of the thumb and index finger of either hand. 

7. Complete anchylosis or irreducible dislocation of either 
the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, or ankle joints. 

8. Paralysis, general, or of one limb. 

0. Muscular or cutaneous contractions from M'ounds, or 
burns, in degree sufficient to prevent useful motion of a limb. 

10. Hernia, irreducible, double inguinal or femoral. 

11. Artificial anus. 

12. Incurable incontinence of urine. 

II. INFIKIIITIES TO BE RATED AS "tWO-TIIIKD DISABILITY." 

1. Total loss of tlie right thumb. 

2. Total loss of both great toes. 

* Proposed hy Surgeon-General Hammond, but never adopted. 

19 



14G 

III. INFIRMITIES TO BE RATED AS " ONE-IIALF DISABILITY." 

1. Loss of sight of one eye. 

2. Loss of nose. 

3. Loss of three fingers of same hand. 

4. Inguinal hernia, reducible. 

5. Total loss of left thumb. 

IV. INFIRMITIES TO BE RATED AS " ONE-TIIIRD DISABILITY." 

1. Permanent contraction or anchylosis of two or more 
fingers of one hand. 

2. Loss of either index finger. 

V. INFIRMITIES TO BE RATED AS " ONE-FOURTH DISABILITY." 

1. Loss of one great toe. 

2. Loss of any three toes. 

3. Loss of ungual phalanx of right tlnnnb. 

FEANCE. 

TABLE OF ORGANIC LESIONS, DESIGNED AS A SCALE TO MEAS- 
URE PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, AND TO CLASSIFY MILITARY 
INVALIDS. 

The French laYv' divides military invalids into six classes, 
viz: 

Complete blindness 1st class. 

, of two limbs, hands or feet 2d class. 

Amputation 

of one limb, " " 3d class. 

two limbs 4th class. 



Total loss of 
use of 



one limb 5th class. 

an officer, for both present and fu-\ 

Lesser degrees \ ture active field duties / 

of mutilation ) . . , „, • ' Pfi i 
or of disease ^"^ ^^*^^^"*^*^^^"^^''*^*^*^^^^^ officer or pri->'*i" ("Lnss. 
which disable / vate for active field service, and\ 
for earning his living / 



147 



The following is the Tahle of Injii'mities as classified under 
Articles 12, 14, 17, Section II., Title II. <f the Act of 
April 13, 1841 : 

1.— Deep-seated, adherent cicatrices, following loss of sub- 
stance of the scalp or skull. 

2. — Loss of substance of any of the bones of the skull, arising 
from trephining, consequent upon fractures, etc., or 
the introduction of foreign substances into its cavity. 

3. — Burns of the face followed by bridled scars, changing the 
relation of organs, and to a certain extent altering 
their functions. 

4. — Hemiplegia occasioned by wounds, or consequent upon 
apoplexy. 

5. — Paraplegia, with or without paralysis of the bladder or 
rectum, occasioned by a fall upon the loins, the nates, 
or some lesion of the vertebral column and medulla 
spinalis. 

(3.— Paraplegia, consequent upon myelitis, or other altera- 
tions of the cerebro-spinal system. 

7. — Epilepsy, chorea, mania, or other alterations in cerebral 
functions, occasioned by blows, falls, or violent concus- 
sions of the nervous system. 

8. — Idiopathic epilepsy, mania, chorea, hypochondi-ia, and 
periodic vertigo, resulting from wounds; facial neu- 
ralgia, traumatic tic-douloureux, or tremor of limbs. 

9. — Perforation of the arch of the palate, destruction of the 
velum palati, resulting from wounds, and sensibly im- 
pairing speech. 
10, — Incurable deformity of either jaw, consequent upon loss 
of substance ; necrosis, or any other accident prevent- 
ing mastication and freedom of speech. 



148 



11. — Salivary tistulas, with escape of saliva, resultiiiij:; from 
lesions of the face, and deemed incurable. 

12. — Disorganization of the ball of the eye, whether idio})atliic 
or consecutive to loss of sight of either eye. 

13. — Gradual impairment of sight resulting from amaurosis or 
cataract, simple or double, and well established. 

11. — Total loss of one eye, or loss of its sight resulting from 
wounds. Inveterate or chronic ophthalmia of both 
eyes, with ulceration of lids, opacities of the cornea, 
staphyloma of this membrane, the sclerotic, or the iris. 

15.;^Diseases of the lachrymal passages. 

16. — Loss of the external pavilion of the ear, or <)l)literation of 
one of the auditory ducts, perforation of the tympa- 
num, with complete deafness of one ear. 

17. — Deafness of both ears, with rupture of their tympana, or 
caries of the small bones. Wounds of the head, fol- 
lowed by lesion and loss of substance of the bones of 
the skull. 

18. — Total loss of the nose, or its accidental deformity to such 
a degree as to hinder respiration or pronunciation. 

19. — Disease of the maxillary sinus. 

20. — Fistulas opening into any portion of the nasal duct, in- 
curable, with loss of voice, and wasting. 

21. — Laryngeal or pulmonary phthisis. Haemoptysis. 

22. — Organic and chronic cardiac lesions, hypertrophy, or 
aneurism resulting from the vicissitudes of military 
service, 

23, — Caries of the ribs or sternum. 

24. — Organic lesions of the stomach. 

25, — Chronic hypertrophy of liver, resulting from climatic in- 
fluences, excessive fiitigue, exposure, etc. 



149 



26. — Chronic liypertrupliy of si)lecii, with digestive trouble 
and tendenc}' to niarasnuis. 

27. — Symptomatic dropsy, resulting from organic disease of 
the abdominal viscera, or hydrothorax. 

28. — Chronic hajmorrhoidal haemorrhage, arising fr(_)m fa- 
tigues, with habitual indisposition, rebellious to all 
treatment. 

29. — Incurable obliteration of rectum, with obstruction to 
defecation, resulting from wounds near the margin of 
the anus; 

30. — Artiiicial anus, resulting from wounds. 

31, — Ventral hernia, resulting from wounds. 

32. — Crural or inguinal hernia, when irreducilde — doul)le 
hernias which cannot be reduced without manifest 
danger, owing to their volume and adhesions. 

33. — Large and multiple varices of the lower liml)s, and scro- 
tum, resulting from fatigues, especially w^hen they 
have repeatedly burst. 

34. — Calculus, resulting from the introduction of a foreign 
body into the bladder. 

35. — Incontinence, or retention of urine, resulting from physi- 
cal injuries to the bladder or urethra, received in the 
service. 

30. — Frecpient and habitual lij^maturia, resulting from the fa- 
tigues of war. 

37. — Loss of the penis from wounds. Loss of the two testicles. 
Total loss of the genitals from wounds. 

38. — Old hydrocele, rebellious to treatment, especially in the 
aged. 

39. — Ilydrosarcocele, resulting from wounds. 

40. — Urinary fistulas, resulting froju wounds. 



150 



41. — Inv'otcratc herpetic affections, wliicli arc I'cbellious to 
treatment. 

42. — Chronic arthritic and rhenmatic aflections, with svvclling 
of joints and impairment of mnscuhir activity, result- 
ing from exposures in tlic service. 

43. — -Deformity of the vertebral column, with impairment of 
the motions of the trunk, arising from the incomplete 
luxation of one of the cervical or lumljar vertebrre. 

44. — -Irreducible luxation of the shoulder, or complete anch}'- 
losis of the scapulo-humeral articulation. 

45. — Irreducible luxation, or complete anchylosis of the hu- 
mero-cubital articulation, with extensive or permanent 
flexion of the fore-arm. Irreducil)le luxation, or 
anchylosis of the carpus. 

46. — Incurable and complete luxation of the thigh, or anchy- 
losis of the coxo-femoral articulation. 

47. — Luxation of the knee, with extension or flexion of the leg. 

48. — Consecutive or spontaneous luxation of the femur. 

49. — Anchylosis (partial or complete) of the foot, with or with- 
out deformity. 

50. — Compound fractures of either the lower or the upper 
limbs, entailing permanent deformity. 

51, — False articulation in any portion of the fractured limbs. 

52. — Loss of either two fingers or toes, with impeded motion 
of the hand or foot. 

53. — Loss of the thumb, with or without loss of the first pha- 
lanx. 

54.^ — Permanent flexion or extension of several fingers, or of all. 

55. — ^Total loss of toes from congelation, or crushing, or any 
cause arising during military service. 

50. — Retraction of limbs, resulting from adherent and deej)- 
seated cicatrices, when incurable. 



151 



57. — Incomplete atrophy of a limb (arm) from wounds. In- 
complete atrophy of a limb (leg) from wounds. 
58. — Loss of substance following lacerated wound, and not only 

altering the form, l)ut destroying the organization of 
parts. 

59. — Deep-seated caries, produced and maintained by the pres- 
ence of a ]>rojectilc or foreign body driven by it into 
the parts. 

r>0. — Cold abscesses, caused l)y disease of the bones. 

Gl. — Aneurisms affecting the principal arteries in either the 
upper or lov/er limbs. 

PKUSSIA. 

Prussia is, perhaps, the most completely military of all the 
continental nations, and in that sense furnishes a good parallel 
for comparison with France. It is safe to assert that every 
able-bodied man has, at some period of his life, been in the 
active service of the State, wdiile all beyond the age for field 
service are still inscribed upon the rolls of the Landv/ehr, and 
included within some of its classes, up to sixty years. Per- 
sonal service to the State being thns exacted from every citi- 
zen, whatever his rank or degree in society, there follows a 
prestige to the military class which enables it to claim large 
gratuities from the pension fund. And inasmuch as ofhcers' 
salaries are extremely small, proportionally to those of con- 
tiguous countries, some return seems to have been made to 
them, in the larger pensions granted iwo rata, as compared 
with other armies, and the privates of their own. How far 
caste-privilege has infected the legislation of this subject, it is 
impossible to say. There is negative evidence that it has 
weighed in the allotment of pensions, since, on no other sup- 
position, can wo account for the great disparity in their amount 



152 



when compared with France, or the most striking miiiimmu 
of support accorded to soldiers in distinction from officers. 
Frederick tlie Great's famous saying, that " We must take 
care of our okl friends, the okl soldiers," does not appear to 
have been literally followed by his successors. The pittance 
given the crippled or blind Prussian soldier, amounting in the 
maximum to eighty-four thalers, or about sixty dollars and 
forty-eight cents per annum, is not sufficient to support him 
out of an asylum, and he becomes almost, if not quite, a pau- 
per, being driven to ask assistance from the parish in which 
he resides. That this is unjust to the soldier admits of no 
doubt ; and the question that naturally arises, is that of the 
cause wliich has produced this neglect of his interests. If it 
1)0 not the result of caste-prerogative favoring the officer, to 
what else can it be due ? By referring to the ijension funds 
of France and Prussia, we find that while in the former offi- 
cers constitute one-fifth of the whole number of pensioners, 
they receive only 15.33 of the fund, while in the latter country, 
where they constitute but one-sixth of the whole nundjer, they 
receive 25.30 of the fund. Here are two great military powers, 
side by side, acknowledging their gratitude for personal ser- 
vices rendered by citizens, the one by an extreme minimum of 
gratuity to soldiers, and a large benefice to officers, or basing 
it upon rank alone, the other making a more nearly equal dis- 
tribution of its rewards according to rank and merit combined. 
By examining in detail the elaborate report of Hon. Theo- 
dore S. Fay, our minister at Berlin, together with Mr. Perkins's 
summary, and the tabulated scale of French pensions, with its 
accompanying sununary, from the same gentleman,* we shall 



* Sec Sanitary Commission Doc. 07, i\Ir. Pevkins'R Eeport on ilio Pension 
Systems of Europe. 



153 



be better able to iiiiderstaiid the coiii})arative merits of tlie 
systems of botli countries, and to perceive that so far as Prussia 
is concerned, there is nothing in iier pension legishition wliich 
we can with safety imitate. 

ijSrSTEUCTIONS FOR MILITAEY SUEGEONS IN 
EELATIOX TO THE DISABILITY OF SOLDIEES 
m THE FIELD, OE DISCHAEGED, WHO AEE 
ENTITLED TO A PENSION.* 

§ 35. — Oil t/ie detei'minaiion of effectiveness and non-effec- 
tiveness in soldiers. 

Soldiers hi service who become uniit for active duty, in con- 
sequence of wounds or bodily iniirmities, are divided into two 
classes, viz : 

a. Such as are entitled to pensions. 

h. Such as are not entitled to pensions. 

In judging of those not entitled to a pension, it must bo 
considered whether the wound or infirmity disabling them, is 
permanent or transitory, in which latter case they are to be 
considered as only temporarily unfit. In case of permanent 
disability, however, the man may l)e unfit only for field service, 
or at the same time for garrison duty, /. <?., for any service. All 
persons who are exempt in consequence of disability, without 
having served at all, are obliged to report to the recruiting 
commissioner of their place of residence for final decision, and 
must be pronounced by the examining military surgeons as 
being only temporarily unfit. 

Invalids entitled to a pension are distributed into two 
classes, viz : 

a. Half-invalids, unfit for field service, l)ut fit for garrison 
duty. 

* Prussian Military Code, Berlin, 18-50. 
20 



154 

h. Invalids unfit for any service. 

^ 30. — Medical exaiiilnatlon of inralids. 

The medical examination of soldiers, in active service, who, 
after a time, either report themselves invalid or are considered 
as such hy the proper authorities, must he made according to 
the general rules of ^ 35. But not all the infirmities which 
exempt from the service are to be looked upon as reasons for 
ineffectiveness in a man already in the service. There is an 
important difference between those two points, and the sur- 
geon cannot be too careful in pronouncing a soldier invalid, 
since the army thereby suffers a loss in discharging a discip- 
lined man which cannot be easily repaired by substituting a 
rav\' recruit in his stead, and besides, the discharged man ac- 
quires a claim to a pension. Soldiers afflicted with simple 
inguinal or femoral hernia must, therefore, not be pronounced 
totally unfit, if the hernia can be supported by a truss and 
occasions no troid)le ; nor nmst men who have contracted, 
while in the service, such infirmities as would exempt a per- 
son from the draft, be considered as totally unfit under any cir- 
cumstances. Hence the surgeon must distinguish whether, 
and to what degree, the soldier is unfit for service in conse- 
quence of his infirmity, and in the first case, whether he is 
only unfit for field service (half-invalid) or even for the easier 
garrison duty (totally or fully iuN-alid), neither decision to be 
given but after a careful examination, or treatment of internal 
diseases, sufficient to demonstrate the invalidity beyond doubt. 

§37. — Of diseases of invalid Ity^ and of diseases and infir- 
mities causing half-invaliditij. 

The surgeon will need to enqJoy all his skill in this particu- 
lar form of investigation, since the same cause, manifesting 



155 



itself in dilfereiit degrees, may occasion either full, or half- 
invalidity. 

BODILY mFIRMITIES CONSHTUTING IIALF-INVALIDrrV. 

1. Loss of substance of the bones of the skull in conse- 
quence of wounds, providing: the wearing of the head-dress 
occasions no distress. 

2. Amblyopia of a slight degree, consecpient upon nervous 
affections, opacities of the cornea (macula?) or other organic 
changes. 

3. Amaurosis of left eye, the right being perfectly healthy. 

4. Progressing deafness. 

5. Loss of front teeth. 

6. Advanced bronchocele. 

7. The highest degree of bronchocele, the gland being much 
enlarged, without injury to respiration. 

8. Varicocele which is troublesome, when no suspensory 
bandage is worn. 

9. Small hydrocele, the patient refusing to submit to an 
operation, or the latter being innpossible for other reasons. 

10. Slight swelling, or induration of testis, 

11. Chronic affections of the lungs, weakness and irritation 
in consequence of acute diseases, chronic catarrh of lungs or 
trachea, chronic hoarseness, 

12. Slight asthma. 

13. Chronic diseases of the bowels, with habitual indiges- 
tion and cramps. 

1-4. Piles, painful swellings around the amis, hiiemorrhoids 
of the bladder. 

15. Chronic muscular rheumatism. 

16. Weakness of joints after wounds and luxations. 

17. Weakness of liml)s after fractures, with recurrent pains 
upon changes of weather. 



156 

IS. Cliruiiic varices, without pain. 

19. Cicatrices of ulcers of tlie feet wlien tliey Ijreak easily 
ill walking. Also, shortening of a leg after fracture, which 
can he remedied hy mechanical means. 

§ 38. — Cont'crnhuf the ahll'dy of invalds to cam thier oivn 
living. 

The surgeon must also state his opinion of the ability of tho 
full invalid to support himself. 

There are four classes of full invalids entitled to a pension. 
a. Such as are not prevented from earning a living. 
h. Such as are partially unfit for self-supp(jrt. 
0. Such as are pretty nearly unfit. 
d. Such as are entirely unfit. 

The last class embraces those who are suft'ering from serious 
eye-diseases, impairing vision ; from deafness, dumbness, men- 
tal diseases, epilepsy, paralysis, or total loss of limbs, oft'ensive 
ulcers of face, diseases of important internal organs, and all 
others suffering from diseases which render labor impossible. 

In relation to the other classes, the surgeon must distinctly 
state his reasons for one, or the other o})inion expressed. 

How far these men are still fit for civil offices does not con- 
cern the surgeon. 

Among young men, disa1)led in the l)eginning of their ser- 
vice by wounds, military ophthalmia, diseases of the lungs, 
etc., the surgeon must also give his opinion of the prognosis of 
the case. 

§ 39. — Whenever discharged soldiers claim a pension, and 
are sent to the surgeon for examination, he need not certify to 
their inefiectiveness, but must state the degree of their inva- 
lidity, only full invalids having a right to such claim. Special 



15T 



care must be taken in such cases with regard to the causes of 
the invahdity, and to the ability for self-support. If the in- 
valid can not prove the cause of his invalidity in a proper 
way, the surgeon must give his opinion as to ^vhat extent the 
man may be believed. 

As to direct injuries received in the service, it must he stated 
that only such as are caused by explosions of poM'der, burns 
while tiring cannon, bursting of guns, injuries in drilling, fall- 
ing with a horse, or from the walls of a fortress while going the 
rounds, are to be considered as lielonging to that class. The 
remote effects of colds, fatigue on the march, and other un- 
avoidable hardships, are only to be looked upon as conse- 
quences of the service, and not as immediate injuries. Injuries 
caused by the carelessness of the man himself do not give any 
claim to a pension. The surgeon has further to consider only 
those injuries received in the service, which are clearly proved 
to him to be such. If this can not be done, he must state how 
far it is probable. 

With reference to military ophthalmia, it is difficult, and 
even impossible to state whether such disease was really of a 
contagious nature, liecause the usual consequences, opacity of 
cornea, staphyloma, etc., are after a long time often found, 
Mnthout the characteristic signs of the principal malady. To 
facilitate this examination, and to prevent mistakes, we will 
state that the contagious nature of a disease is probable if the 
invalid was among such troops as are suffering from it, if fre- 
quent relapses have occurred, and particularly, if beside the 
above named symptoms the state of the conjunctiva itself^ 
swellings, granulations, et(^, show it. The surgeon must state 
which of these circumstances lead him to these conclusions. 

If veterans without wounds or other injuries arc presented 
for examination, the surgeon must use his own judgment in 



158 



detenu iiiing the possibility of the aeeideiit upon which the 
man Ijases his chxini. 

g 42. — Medical Certificates for Soldiers. 

The certificiites of unfitness for service, or invalidity (with 
the name of the authority tliat asks for it), must be brief and 
exact — state the degree of invalidity, and its causes, so far as 
they are known to the surgeon, remembering particularly 
whether such invalidity was brouglit on by wounds, innne- 
diate injuries in the service, or simple consequence of the ser- 
vice, or not at all in connection with it, 

§ 43. — Concerning the i(se of the expressions " unfit," " in- 
effective," "unfit for service," or "invalid." 

Whether the surgeon shall use the expression "unlit for 
service," or " invalid," depends on the tact whether the pro- 
per authorities intend to count him among the invalids or not. 
In this case, the expression " half-invalid," or " full-invalid," 
must be used ; if not, and there is no claim for pension, " unlit 
for service," "temporarily unlit,' "unlit for tield-service, but 
tit for garrison duty," or linally, " totally unfit," are the ex- 
pressions. 

The certiiicates for full invalids must also contain the opin- 
ion of the surgeon as to how for the man is able to support 
himself. To facilitate all this, the soldier must be furnished, 
by the authority asking for the examination, with a paper 
stating whether he claims a pension or not. 

§ 44. — When giving such certificates to any persons subject 
to the draft, or soldiers in active service, the surgeon need 
only occupy himself with the physical condition of the man. 
Everything outside of this medical sphere is to be disregarded. 
Nor is he, either, expected to express his o})inion as to the 



159 



hiitit way of supporting- the invalid. The surgeon must found 
liis opinion alone on the result of the physical examination of 
the soldier — must give his certilicate with the greatest regard 
to duty, and mindful of his responsihility under his official oath, 
and must also give all such testimony touching the ineffective- 
ness, or invalidity, under oath. Every mistake, arising from 
carelessness or intention, will ])e punished, according to law. 

}^ 45. — Superoision of Medical CeHlfieates Ijij the Surgeon- 
General of an Arniij Corps. 

Every certihcate must he laid hefore the Surgeon-General of 
an army corps, ])y the chief of its staff, for final inspection. 

RUSSIA. 

Invalid pensioners are divided into three classes according 
to their injuries and disabilities. 

To the first elaxs heJong those^ who^ in consequence (f loss (f 
tico or more limhs, ^_>«ra7ysi'* of limbs, or disease of mind or 
hody, are unfitted for any business, and require the constant 
assistance of another person. The injuries for which perso9}s 
shall be assigned to this class are the following, vis : 

1st. Entire loss of sight, from whatever cause arising. 

2d. All injuries of the head or spine giving rise to incurable 
diseases. 

3d. Deaf-dumbness resulting from any traumatic lesion. 

4:th. Injuries of the upper jaw, with extensive loss of l)Ouy 
and fleshy parts ; or of the bones of the nose or palate, occa- 
sioning an impediment to mastication, swallowing, or speech. 

5th. Incural)le contractions, or anchylosis of the large artic- 
ulations. 



160 

Qth. Loss or complete paralysis of two legs from tlie above 
cause. 

7th. Loss or complete paralysis of one arm and leg from the 
same cause. 

%th. Artiiicial anus, stercoral listulas. 

Mh. Loss or complete paralysis of all the fingers, or loss of 
five fingers, including the tlnunb and index-finger of each hand. 

I'o the second class helong tJiose lolio have lost one of the 
large liinhs, or ivho have lost its use through faralysis ; also, 
those vjho, in consequence of wounds, are either deformed or 
disfigured ; or in conseguence of serious injuries of either 
internal or external organs have contracted incwrahle diseases. 

Injuries for which persons shall be assigned to the second 
class are the following, viz : 

\st. Penetrating wounds of the head, neck, chest, or al)- 
domen ; also, the same description of wounds received in the 
upper part of the face, although they may have left no serious 
consequences. 

2r7. Lijuries of the head, involving either fracture of the 
skull, fissure and contra-fissure, or diastasis of sutures. 

3c7. Loss of sight of one eye, accompanied by disease not 
destroying the sight of the other. 

^th. Deafness arising from traumatic lesion. 

hth. Injuries of the upper jaw involving the 1)ones and car- 
tilage of the nose. 

^th, Ozfena, resulting from injuries to the forehead or jaws; 
also, any injury to the nose, accompanied by putrid sores with 
constant discharge of fcetid matter. 

W). Injury of lower jaw, with extensive loss of bony and 
fleshy parts, impeding mastication and speech. 

Wi. Injury of lower or upper jaw, with loss of bony sub- 
stance, accompanied l)y disfigurement. 



161 



W}. Injury of neck, accompanied l)y stiffness and inal)ility 
to turn the head, 

10th. Injury of pliarynx or (esopha(>;iis, producing- dyspliagia 
by (esophageal stricture or paralysis. 

11?'/^. Injury of larynx or trachea, occasioning aphonia, 
tracheal fistula, or laryngeal or tracheal phthisis. 

I'ith. Injury of the chest, with fracture of sterniTm and ribs, 
though recovered from without leaving any serious conse- 
quences. 

IWi. All injuries of the chest, producing frequent li?emop- 
tyses, asthma, hydrothorax, chronic bronchitis, ])litliisis pul- 
monalis, aneurisms, palpitation — indicating dilatation of the 
heart — angina pectoris. 

IMh. Loss of one arm, or its paralysis produced by mnscu- 
cular contractions. 

lUh. Injury of right hand accompanied ])y paralysis ; also 
loss of all fingers, or any three of the right hand. 

16^/^ Loss or paralysis of first finger of each hand produced 
l)y the same cause. 

\7th. Loss of six fingers, excluding the loss of thumb and 
first finger of each hand. 

18M. Injuries of the abdomen producing ascites ; induration 
of deep-seated organs, or phthisis ; atrophy, marasmus, slow 
nervous fever, aneurism, irreducible hernias. 

l^th. Incontinence of urine. 

20^A. Fistulas, whether simple or not, opening into the cavi- 
ty of the urethra. 

'2,lsL Incurable anal fistulas. 

22^7. Fistulas opening into the cavity of organs, or of large 
articulations, and arising from caries in progress, 

23fZ. Extensive loss of substance of limbs, accompanied hy 
obstruction of their use, or wasting. 
21 



162 



24^A. Frequent oi^ciiiii*^ of avouikIb (necrosis, caries.) 

''loth. Extensive deformity of chest or Lack, or incurable de- 
viation of body to either side. 

2GM. Incuraljle curvature of the body. 

2TM. False articuhitions. 

28^/^ Sliortening of one limb, accompanied by lameness. 

29if/<. Loss of one leo;, or its paralysis, produced l)y muscular 
contractions. 

30^//. Loss of all the toes resulting from injuries to the feet. 

31-s/. Suppurative fever, atrophy and consumption induced 
by wounds. 

32fZ. Loss of one-third of the tongue, accompanied by diffi- 
culty in swallowing and speaking. 

33c7. Licurable sores on the cheeks, tongue, palate and ton- 
sils, accompanied l)y impairment of the natural functions of 
these parts. 

34^/^ Injury of left hand, accompanied l)y muscular con- 
traction of the fingers, or their paralysis. 

35^/*. Loss of all, or only four lingers of left hand. 

ZUh. Injury of ankle, accompanied l)y partial anchylosis 
with lameness. 

ZWt. Injm-y of foot, with loss of os calcis, accompanied l»y 
lameness, or incapacity to stand on it. 

38^/^. Loss of penis, with loss of power to urinate; or loss 
of penis with testicles; or loss of penis accompanied by an 
incurable disease of the testicles. 

To the third class helony those who, in consequence <)/' seHous 
injury of any impo7'tantpc(rt of the hody, are, evidently, omtch 
inconvenienced in the use of tJiat part, and also thoxe ndio^ 'in 
consequence (f nyjxnds, hare hccome inv(dided. 

Injuries for which persons shall l)e assigned to the third 
class, are the following, viz : 



163 



1st. Injuries of tlie licad, preveiitini;' tlie wearing of the 
liead-dress. 

2d. Exfoliation of the external tal)le of the skull, or extensive 
loss of its substance in any part, from wounds or trephinini;:. 

8r/. Purulent ophthalmia, with granulations. 

4t^i. Loss of sight of one e}'e. 

5th. Impairment of sight, produced hy any ineural)le dis- 
ease of the eyey. 

Cit/i. Lagophthalmia, hlepharo]»tosis, ectro])ion, entropion, 
coloboma. 

7t/t. Fistula Lachrynudis. 

St/i. Epiphora. 

^th. Loss of nose. 

lOt/i. Loss of ears, 

11th. Loss of one ear, accompanied hy loss of hearing. 

12th. Chronic purulent otori'hoea, accompanied by weak- 
ness of hearing, or its loss. 

13th. Injury of lips, accompanied by extensive disfignration, 
or injury of lips with loss of several teeth, 

14:th. Incural)le salivary fistula, 

15th. Small, incurable iistula, wherever situated. 

lC}th. Shortening of arm, produced by loss of portir)n of 
Ixmes, or fractures. 

17th. Loss, or paralysis of the iirst linger of the right hand. 

18^, Loss, or paralysis of three lingers of left hand. 

19th. Injury of foot, accompanied by paralysis of toes. 

2()th. Loss of toes of one foot. 

21.st. Incurable tremor of any part of the body. 

22//. Loss, or incurable organic lesion of testicles. 

2S(I. Injuries of any part of the body, such as large and feeble 
scars ; permanent swelling, impairing freedom of motion, or in- 
ca])acitating the party from wearing military accontrements. 



REPORT 



U. S. SANITARY COMMISSION 



SYSTEM 



ECONOMICAL RELIEF 



DISABLED SOLDIERS, 

AXD OX CERTAIN PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO OUR PRESENT 

PENSION LA^TS^S, 

BY 

JOHN ORDRONAUX, M. D., 

Prof, of Metl. Jiir.. Columbia College, N. Y.. and Assoriate Membor U. S. S. C. 



' Conferet exsanguis quo aepnst bella soncctns? 
Qua; sedes erit emeritis ? qua; rura dabuntnr? 
Qua? noster veteranns aret, qnas mop.ma fessis?" 

Lncan. 1, 343. 



NEW YORK: 

SANFORD. HAREOUN .^ CO., TRTNTERS, G44 BROADAVAY 
1864. 



H104 80 •% 



LBJa'lO 



«-/_ O I 










x^' 










**' 







\ 




A*^ 

/. 










^°*n^. 



V 







^-./ 
.^'% 










^"-^ 







.A' 




-S' 









0^ 



v* . » . *<• 













.*' 















1^ • _r<:^^^«* *r 





\ 




i^ ° • « . 




V- 




,-tq. 



V* * 

















c^ ♦ 






































^^0^ 
,-^0^ 











